Orlando Magic: 3 important goals for Jalen Suggs this season
By Luke Duffy
Orlando Magic goals for Jalen Suggs: 3. Stay healthy
It seems obvious, doesn’t it? While it is clear that having Suggs on the court is the most important thing, this is not as straightforward as it sounds for the Magic given their recent injury history with young players. Jonathan Isaac is the most infamous example, having sprained his ankle badly in his rookie year, then sprained his knee, before the dreaded ACL tear in the NBA’s bubble.
He is not alone though, as Bamba has had a leg fracture in the past, while Chuma Okeke missed all of his own rookie season with a torn ACL (which admittedly was suffered in college, before the organization drafted him). Markelle Fultz, having rediscovered his ability to shoot somewhat consistently, would also tear his ACL at the beginning of last season.
Taking Okeke out of the equation, and that is a worrying trend of knee injuries in young players down in Orlando. Like, examine your medical staff kind of bad. Even Anthony had his own rookie struggles, suffering a strange rib injury that curtailed his development last year just as he was beginning to build up a head of steam.
So keeping Suggs healthy is the most important goal this season and beyond. Building around players who often miss time is tricky, and it is hoped Suggs will be that guy that Magic put a competitive team around before long (Isaac was meant to be that guy, and still could be, but it is his own injury history which makes this a risky proposition).
The Magic may not want to wrap him up in cotton wool entirely so that Suggs can play, get reps professionally and make mistakes. But they also need to shut him down at the first sign of something serious, if that were to happen. He plays with such tenacity on both ends of the court that even curbing this enthusiasm may be necessary early on in order to save him for the undoubted bigger games ahead.