Another day Another Jalen Suggs masterpiece.
First off Suggs is a defensive menace, his elite motor, elite intensity, great hand eye coordination and just athleticism is a matchup nightmare, and the teammate every player loves. He brings the energy that can shift an entire game. I have said this before but I am picking Suggs over J Green and Cade right now or any other guard in his class and honestly he is getting close to untouchable. Suggs is the fastest guy on the court, he pokes loose balls from defenders hands and in mid-air and is a blur after. Suggs is a strong dunker, a decent inside finisher, and his shot is now reliable and consistent and he is even adding more to his game. I know the media forces a narrative but Suggs was honestly gamechanging defensively when he plays every single season including his rookie year. Suggs is underrated, to me I am honestly debating on if he is #1 in a redraft. Defensively elite, athletically gifted, a great playmaker, and all he needs to be average on offense and the guy honestly could have an AS nod and I think this year its possible.
I truly think Suggs is a top 8 guard potential in this league. He has the chops to make it extremely far with his pure build, then we add in his fast break offense (completely unguardable in the open court as he is a top 10 athlete in this league). His versatility on defense and offense, playing as a cutter, connector, creator, and even deep range spacer. He is even more switchable on defense, I truly think he can guard 1-5 and it was shown many times before with him locking center and smalls in same possessions. He can absolutely hold a zone alone. Is a vocal leader, and oncourt captain, and a player that wants to win and never slacks off. The guy looked like he had unlimited energy out there tonight. He came in and just took over, thats the visible IT factor, and then the intangibles like how this team just rises in intensity, players are getting hyped, crowd is shouting and getting involved all from Jalen just coming oncourt. He is a pure difference maker.
A few vids about Suggs / stats about Suggs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJlKuuUFR5s (Jalen Suggs and “Three Level Defense”, FlowHoops)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHSPnvVJ4n8 (Jalen Suggs Rookie Defensive Highlights, Orlando Magic
Moments) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OToMQPwh0dA (Jalen Suggs Rookie Scoring Highlights, Orlando Magic Moments)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geRQyNqR8SQ (Jalen Suggs Scoring Highlights | 2022-23 Orlando Magic NBA, Orlando Magic Moments)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MATXM4wa1OY (Jalen Suggs Defensive Highlights | 2022-23 Orlando Magic NBA, Orlando Magic Moments)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r68nFZ5E8kU (How Jalen Suggs broke out for the Orlando Magic by becoming a defensive savant and transition driver, Game Theory Podcast w/ Sam Vecenie)
I wrote this before but a look back to rookie Suggs and his underrated rookie season. The guy should have been talked about way more and in fact imo should have been a part of the all rookie teams and shouldn’t have been under the radar.
During his rookie year Jalen Suggs according to Fivethirtyeight for SGs playing a minimum of 1000 minutes was 8th best overall defensive SG. For the same specifications but using PGs instead he is the 4th best. 1000 minutes to me is a decent amount of time to consider injuries etc… Alex Caruso who got injured early and came back after some time played 1260. Suggs moves to #2 in PG and #5 if you raise the minutes up to 1300. Suggs as mentioned above was guarding 1-5 and taking on any switch especially on the other teams better players
Suggs also has a huge margin of time guarding the other team’s best player straight up (not just when switched) and showing strong defense. https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1552140344980127750 (NBA University, Matchupdifficulty)
So, the rookie Jalen Suggs can be considered by just Fivethirtyeight to be at worse a top 8 defensive guard during his rookie season, #14 in the whole NBA for players playing min 1300 minutes. I think realistically taking everything into account (especially the fact that Jalen has efficient/lockdown defense on stars) tells me that Jalen is top 3 defensive guard and honestly top 8-12 defensive player in the NBA.
Now here’s the perspective portion I mentioned above, Suggs was the worse offensive SG in the NBA (players playing a min of 1000 minutes) getting ranked at # 115 out of 115(this is the absolute worse) and also he was still the worse for PGs at #73 out of 73 (still the absolute worst/last nobody worse than him). So, he is a top 5 defensive player and the absolute worst offensive player for the minutes specified but most consider offense the easiest to attain and learn. Game speed and everything slows with time. Jalen Green (other Jalen) was ranked #91 for overall offense (SG min 1000 mins), and Cade was ranked #58 for PG (min 1000 mins) while for their defense Green is # 108 close to the bottom, Cade was #31 (PG). So overall adding both offense and defense Suggs was ranked #79, Green #111 out of 115 (SG for min 1000 mins), and Suggs was ranked # 57, Cade was #60 out of 73 (PG for min 1000 mins). Suggs defensive numbers were so impressive that despite being the worst offensive player he still “beats” both the 1st team All rookies Green and Cade who are considered by many to be superstars in the future. Suggs defense alone puts him at middle of the table for guards playing min 1000 minutes.
Suggs offense should continue to come along but its pretty ridiculous for a rookie to come into the league and just instantly be top 5 in any category especially a major category like defense. Suggs switches onto every matchup, and usually has to defend the other team’s best player and he does it efficiently and strongly. So, by perspective, despite my bias, I truly am really really high on Suggs. I think he is finally finding his game, and not to say Cade and Green cant get better with time but Suggs being the worst in league to average is probably easier than Cade or Green reaching top 10 in any of the other categories as Suggs was.
Suggs in his 3rd year is really finding himself. Suggs has now really harnessed the potential that was glimpsed at during his rookie year. His offensive skills are starting to complement his raw tools, he is no longer ranking at the bottom of every offensive metric but instead showing some proficiency and efficiency on the court (not exactly this game but he has shown it to end the year last season). The guys hard work, effort and dedication is so apparent. He is an absolute force to be reckoned with, and not just for his defensive capabilities, but for an all-around game + being a top 5 athletic player with growing bball iq and leadership. He is going to evolve into top-caliber player and potential perennial AS. The guy is ready. I think he was the right pick at the spot, I think he could have went higher, and I think in a redraft he goes 1-3 in the mix with Franz/Sengun. Personally I honestly think he is a #1 pick capable guy. He is underrated, but his impact is so apparent. He had games that he was seemingly the sole reason for the comeback. Just a complete takeover type of player.
Suggs is one of the most important pieces in a future dynasty, I have said it for many years, take out Gary and put in Suggs and the Magic will dominate. Orlando is ready. I honestly think this is the season that they not only surpass all projections but they actually compete in the next stage. Playoffs is a completely different game but unlike other similar young fast risers led by young stars like recently Memphis, Sac, or previously Dallas, Atlanta. Orlando is a perfect mix of the talent downboard plus experience in tournaments and high pressure environments plus experience with having known and widely recognized vets in Ingles/Gary(we really dont need these 2 though but I see it with Ingles but Gary isn’t needed). This team is while also like them filled with potential, many of the players have big tournament experience and to me Suggs is an actual leader. He showed it in Minnehaha, showed it in USA basketball, showed it in Gonzaga and is showing it in the NBA. Every time Suggs is on a team, he becomes the captain and leader no matter the prospects with him. The guy is an actual on court leader that many teammates listen to, respect, and get energy from.
This team is ready and honestly it starts with Jalen getting into the starting lineup. I truly think he makes Orlando a championship contender, if its too early to call then so be it, but if it happens I will absolutely point to Suggs. He is going to change the entire landscape and mentality of this team and to me he can be the next big change in the NBA. He can force the rise of defensive guards that can switch to multiple positions and play small or big similar to Jrue + Smart, usually defensive guards choose either the small style like Smart or the big style like Jrue but a mix is only Suggs and Caruso. He is a winning player, a captain and leader, who makes gambles that usually lead to huge positives for the team, but rarely they lead to huge net losses. Suggs has shown elite lock potential since his rookie year, and he has perfected that to an artform so far these games this season. Completely shutting down AS’s and making them look helpless. I am not joking when I say its an artform. The way Suggs was shutting down Mitchell, Tyrese, Jaylen Brown, these game was beautiful and can be deep dived in more film studies like the ones above and I do believe teams will do just that. And the craziest and most positive aspect of his defense is that its flexible. Suggs is a monster. 3 LEVEL Defender. He needs to be treated like the 3rd star on this team, I truly mean it. The guy was the final piece and imo probably the most important until Mo comes back and Orlando is a dynasty.
I was getting so much hate from Magic fans after being mad at Mosley for benching his first and second unit and even some of the third unit during a IST game in which the Magic were up 40 vs the Raptors. Guess what, that 40+ diff would have made this team make the tournament. Its not like the Magic main guys were going to exhaust themselves playing 4 more mins vs the Raps 2nd/3rd stringers and all they had to do really was defend and waste clock. But nah Mosley put out the tankers and the Magic lead became +19 or something. Ridiculous.