Lowe's 10 Things: So, umm, what exactly is Jalen Suggs?

[Def Swami]

3. So, umm, what exactly is Jalen Suggs?
Suggs has played 72 games, so it's too soon to really worry. But even amid early-career hiccups, it's nice to watch a young player and think: I can see what this guy will be on a good team. That's hard to do with Suggs.

He's averaging six dimes per 36 minutes, but he's not quite a point guard. Suggs shares the floor with either Markelle Fultz or Cole Anthony, and those guys run the show (along with Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.) On a lot of possessions, Suggs is barely involved -- off to the side in a spot-up role. He's not well-suited for that role right now; Suggs is 68-of-291 career (23.4%) from deep. No one guards him out there.

That shaky jumper limits Suggs' viability as a point guard. Defenders duck screens against him, walling off the paint and allowing help defenders to stay home.

Lots of point guards -- including Fultz -- face the same strategy. Some beat it with sheer speed -- winning the race to the spot underneath the screen. But it's hard to do that every time. You need craft -- changes of pace, shoulder fakes, the ability to bob and weave behind successive screens. Fultz has that. Suggs doesn't -- yet.

He's a full-speed-ahead player. That works in transition, where his passing shines. In the half-court, he sometimes sprints ahead of teammates.

Orlando drafted Wagner three spots after Suggs, so there's a no-harm, no-foul element if Suggs ends up underperforming expectations. (The Magic surely notice Josh Giddey -- No. 6 -- thriving in Oklahoma City.) We're a long way from final judgment. Time will bring clarity.

https://www.espn.com/nba/insider/insider/story/_/id/35535025/lakers-hachimura-big-decisions-atlanta-coby-white-transformation

[ORLMagicGirl15]

He spent the whole time asking who he is on offense but fail to talk about the best part of his game, defense.

[Skybox]

A lot of parallels to Marcus Smart. Drafted as a PG. Wasn't exactly a PG until recently - with a lot of "I told you so's". Either one could pair nicely with a scoring PG (who maybe lags a bit on D)

[eyriq]

Suggs is interesting. He's competing for the starting point guard role, the 6th man combo guard role, while holding down that 8th man versatile defender role for 16 mpg. I don't love the situation for him or for us.

[fendilim]

He was solid when running the point early this year.

Would rather have him than cole. Suggs play with stability.

He really is a career bad shooter, but if you break down his shooting year to year, the guy improved.

[VFX]

Lowe pretty much saying he shouldn’t be sharing the floor with Fultz or Cole for all the reasons people here have illustrated.

Suggs has been noticeably better this season compared to last. He shows flashes sometimes as being a great playmaker and potentially elite defensive player.

[fendilim]

A lot of parallels to Marcus Smart. Drafted as a PG. Wasn't exactly a PG until recently - with a lot of "I told you so's". Either one could pair nicely with a scoring PG (who maybe lags a bit on D)

Tatum - banchero
Brown - franz
Smart - suggs
Brogdon - fultz
Horford - wcj

[Ralof]

Defensive specialist from the bench.

15-20 minutes,making him locks the best opposite guard.

[Skybox]

A lot of parallels to Marcus Smart. Drafted as a PG. Wasn't exactly a PG until recently - with a lot of "I told you so's". Either one could pair nicely with a scoring PG (who maybe lags a bit on D)

Tatum - banchero
Brown - franz
Smart - suggs
Brogdon - fultz
Horford - wcj

that's actually pretty spot on except for Brogdon being a very good shooter. Isaac maybe is TimeLord-ish defensive minded big. They're big 2 are better today, but I wouldn't think they, Brown in particular, were as good as ours at the same age/year in the league. You could also argue that our 7-12 bench depth compares pretty favorably although Williams and White are better than any of ours individually.

I'm not crazy, BOS is awesome - maybe best in the league. It's just a nice exercise to objectively (?) see that we're definitely getting there.

[dsg2021]

I still see our cap sheet as having a 3-4 year window for flexibility towards max cap space and in the process giving Suggs more opportunities.
Like someone said, they didn’t talk about his sterling defense. It’s clear no one really puts quite as much effort in it until maybe very just recently with Isaac (if even). And I believe I was one of the very first here to mention the parallels to Marcus Smart, especially if you remember early career Smart who was maybe still better on offense than Suggs but much more inefficient.
We have often talked both inside and outside of this board about guards needing more years than other positions to shine, so we can’t suddenly ignore that either.
Suggs just feels like a keeper piece, and you find out much later if it’s as a starting 1 or 2, or as a top 7-8 rotation piece. Because it’s always going to be a positive impact with Suggs. He be hitting them 3’s last night too!

[fendilim]

A lot of parallels to Marcus Smart. Drafted as a PG. Wasn't exactly a PG until recently - with a lot of "I told you so's". Either one could pair nicely with a scoring PG (who maybe lags a bit on D)

Tatum - banchero
Brown - franz
Smart - suggs
Brogdon - fultz
Horford - wcj

that's actually pretty spot on except for Brogdon being a very good shooter. Isaac maybe is TimeLord-ish defensive minded big. They're big 2 are better today, but I wouldn't think they, Brown in particular, were as good as ours at the same age/year in the league. You could also argue that our 7-12 bench depth compares pretty favorably although Williams and White are better than any of ours individually.

I'm not crazy, BOS is awesome - maybe best in the league. It's just a nice exercise to objectively (?) see that we're definitely getting there.

Isaac may be our grant williams.

Cole Anthony Payton Pritchard

But yeah, fultz isnt as good of a shooter brogdon is. But he is a pretty good playmaker like brogdon.

[eyriq]

I agree Suggs is a keeper. I don't know that being the 8th man is ideal for him and his development though. I think he needs to supplant Fultz or Cole at some point soon or his long-term window starts closing. Houstan is coming for Suggs' current role I think.

[Magic_Kingdom]

Wasted top-5 pick in a loaded draft. Even his biggest fans have to admit he’s been a huge disappointment. The fact that Giddey was taken with the next pick just makes it worse.

[Knightro]

Lowe pretty much saying he shouldn’t be sharing the floor with Fultz or Cole for all the reasons people here have illustrated.

Suggs has been noticeably better this season compared to last. He shows flashes sometimes as being a great playmaker and potentially elite defensive player.

Therein lies one of the problems with "pushing for the play in"

Fultz and Anthony don't have the same ceiling as Suggs, but they both certainly provide more value to this team offensively right now.

It would likely benefit the Magic long-term to just start Suggs at PG and play him 30 minutes a night, but these players and coaches all want to win and they know who gives them the best chance to win in this very moment (not Suggs).

This is as pepe and many others have also pointed out, one of the flaws with trying to "develop" 7-8 guys all at the same time. It's not really a viable thing to do.

[Ralof]

Playing Suggs +30 minutes right now would be detrimental for his own health,until he changes that style of play.

[basketballRob]

Playing Suggs +30 minutes right now would be detrimental for his own health,until he changes that style of play.

It's not that, he needs to 100% recuperate from the ankle and get into shape. He looks like he's still gasping for air after a few minutes. I'd be okay with him getting 15 mpg for the next month.


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[zaymon]

I dont see any problem with Suggs. Its better to play him fewer minutes until he settles his game. Right now starting him is asking for injury. Limited role, limited minutes and in 2-3 years we should have a player. No need to press it.

[JoshuaPotter]

I agree Suggs is a keeper. I don't know that being the 8th man is ideal for him and his development though. I think he needs to supplant Fultz or Cole at some point soon or his long-term window starts closing. Houstan is coming for Suggs' current role I think.

I really want to see the lineups that give us the 4th quarter stats. I suspect Fultz + Cole which we have seen and Cole + Suggs are going to be key pieces to it.

Which is much as I disparage their ability to knock down the 3. They may bring according to the numbers enough defense to negate it.

The other problem being there are also 3 quarters in basketball.

[VFX]

Wasted top-5 pick in a loaded draft. Even his biggest fans have to admit he’s been a huge disappointment. The fact that Giddey was taken with the next pick just makes it worse.

Other than Giddey I don't think Suggs has been a "wasted pick".

He definitely hasn't warranted a top 5 pick, but he has significantly impacted some games.

I'm still hopeful that his ceiling can be that of a Smart or Billups type of player. It really just depends on how he develops.

[Black and Blue]

I honestly don't see much controversial in this take. The Magic front office will probably admit after a few (many) drinks that they don't quite know exactly how Suggs works on this team long term yet. The key is to continue to push him to work on his limitations when he is healthy, which has not been that much time so far.

The bigger issue (I've illustrated before) is the team doesn't exactly have forever for Suggs to develop at this point. Due to the immense impact of Franz and Paolo, as well as the positive development of Bol and Carter, this team is suddenly ready to compete quicker than expected and can't sit on their hands before upgrading both guard spots (especially if they get a high draft pick or a good trade offer). Suggs may soon find himself with a much better player added to the roster in front of him.

I'll go out on a limb here, and I 100% am simply speculating (so be gentle): I think the Magic are seeing the 2021 draft as a success in getting a quality starter in Franz and a backup in Suggs. I think they are content to add a PG or SG at will without either spot in any way reserved for Suggs, and will only give him the rest of the year to prove that plan otherwise before looking for an upgrade.