The Orlando Magic had big visions for their 2025 season. They envisioned playing for homecourt advantage and winning their first playoff series.
The Magic's season, though, has not gone to plan.
Injuries have been the main culprit. Things looked like they would go in the wrong direction when Paolo Banchero tore his right oblique in October. When the team held firm, it looked like the injury to Franz Wagner, when he tore his right oblique, would be the end of the story. Indeed, the Magic's offense began to sink further after that.
But the Magic stayed afloat, stayed in the race, and stayed fourth in the Eastern Conference. It seemed like the Magic would be steady when those two key All-Stars returned to the lineup and continued their ascent in the standings.
But the season did not fall off the rails until Jalen Suggs left the lineup with a low back strain on Jan. 3. The Magic have not recovered despite Wagner and Banchero's return.
The season has felt lost without Suggs in the lineup.
If one thing became clear in the third quarter of the season, it is how important Jalen Suggs is. Absence indeed has made the heart grow fonder. And the Magic have been unable to replace him.
"He's very important," Kentavious Caldwell-Pope said after Sunday's loss to the Toronto Raptors. He's our point guard and starting point guard at that. What he can do defensively, cause havoc, put heat on the ball, the momentum changes like that. It sets us apart from other teams. He's truly going to be missed. We talk every day trying to keep his head up. He's truly going to be missed, especially on the defensive end."
When the Magic finally broke
Indeed, it feels as though the Orlando Magic have lost their heart.
Suggs spearheaded the determination and fearlessness that defined this team for the last few years. As coach Jamahl Mosley often puts it, Suggs was the "head of the snake" on defense.
The Magic finally broke during the third quarter of their season, when they went 6-15 and played all but one game without Suggs. Suggs' absence was a big part of that story.
Orlando has gone 8-18 since Suggs' injury. It is undeniable how much his absence has played in the team's descent and difficulties this season.
With so little in the way of positive vibes or feelings through the last 21 games, there is no choice but to think about what the Magic lacked and how different things were compared to the first half of the season.
Suggs played only one game for the Magic, returning from a low back strain on Jan. 25 against the Detroit Pistons. Overeager, Suggs quickly got into foul trouble that game. But in the middle of a five-game losing streak, the Magic needed a win and turned to Suggs and their starters to deliver the win.
Orlando proceeded to go on a 20-4 run in the first 4:20 of the fourth quarter to seize control of the game. Considering how good the Pistons are, it was a major comeback and statement that the Magic were holding onto their spot and coming out of their malaise. A sign that everything would be all right if the Magic could have their three main players on the floor together—a +8.1 net rating in 97 minutes together.
Suggs scored only eight points and went 3 for 8 in that game, but just his presence seemed to lift the team. He was talking with fans and getting the Kia Center in a frenzy to lead the charge for the Magic.
That proved short-lived. In the middle of a scuffle in front of the Magic's bench, Suggs limped off the court with what the Magic eventually diagnosed as a quad contusion. A stubborn one that would not heal.
In the meantime, the Magic blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter of a double-overtime loss in Miami and went 1-4 on a critical West Coast road trip.
The Magic were fourth at 21-15 when Suggs injured his back, fell to seventh at 24-23 after the win over the Pistons and are now 29-33 and eighth in the East with dimming hopes to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
The defense is gone
It is not just with the record that shows how much the Orlando Magic miss Jalen Suggs.
For the season, Orlando has a defensive rating of 109.1 points allowed per 100 possessions, the second-best mark in the league. With Suggs on the floor, the Magic have a 104.8 defensive rating, nearly five points per 100 possessions better than their season average.
Since Suggs' injury, the Magic have a 112.8 defensive rating, more than three points per 100 possessions worse than their season average. In the third quarter of the season, the Magic settled in at 113.7 points allowed per 100 possessions.
The Magic have been noticeably slipping.
Suggs is now out indefinitely with an injury to the trochlear area in his left knee. He will undergo arthroscopic surgery to clear out loose cartilage. It feels unlikely Suggs will return this season. The Magic will have to find a way without him.
"It's tough not having him," coach Jamahl Mosley said before Sunday's loss to the Toronto Raptors. "It's not just about the team. It's for him. You feel bad that he's not going to be able to give that energy and what he's doing and what he's capable of providing this team.
"You aren't asking guys to bring that type of energy because everyone is different. It becomes a differnet type of focus on how we play. It won't be get going and diving on the floor and getting into the crowd. It might not be those things. It may be we win the hustle stats and win the hustle plays. Those little things from everyone is going to be very important. We've got to win those stats because that's winning basketball."
Nobody believes they can replace Suggs completely. It would be impossible. The Magic though have struggled to find a way to keep up the energy and intensity that Suggs naturally brings.
Orlando is capable. The team still has two offensive engines to lean on, even as the offense too has lagged and struggled.
Wagner came back from injury and averaged an incredible 25.8 points per game. Banchero is still averaging 22.0 points per game in the third quarter of the season despite his inefficiencies and struggles.
The Magic though have had no one who could even come close to approximating what Suggs gave them. Orlando's identity is built on its defense and it is missing its best defensive player.
More than that, the team is missing its heart and soul. And that was abundantly clear in the last 30 games. The Magic will likely not see Suggs, who has played a career-low 35 games, until the start of next season.
It is clear now how vital he is to the team's success and growth.