One thing has remained the same about Jalen Suggs in the past two months, since he first suffered a low back strain on Jan. 3 and had to sit and wait to return: He wants to be back on the floor and support his teammates.
He has been itching to get back onto the floor but has been unable to get himself right. Watching the Orlando Magic struggle to corral Stephen Curry in Thursday's loss stung.
"It's tough to watch any game that you can't go and help guys out and help make plays, help shift the game and just be impactful toward the outcome of the game," Suggs told reporters after Thursday's loss to the Golden State Warriors. "Everything is hard. I thought we played pretty well. Slowed down a bit in the seocnd half, but sometimes grat players do crazy things."
Suggs told reporters he was in a good mental and physical state and "progressing" in his recovery. For the last several weeks, it seems everyone has been looking for answers about what the team described as a quad contusion.
For now that means working through it without Suggs. And that period will extend for a bit longer.
The team has officially ruled Suggs out indefinitely with a trochlea injury in his left knee, the groove between the kneecap and the femur. The team said Suggs was experiencing discomfort during his return to play activities and went in for more imaging and evaluation when the injury was discovered.
Mason Williams of Magic on SI reported Suggs's timetable to return will depend on the treatment plan they develop for him. That plan is still in the works and could include anything from continued rest and physical therapy to anti-inflammatory medicines to arthroscopic surgery to remove any loose cartilage.
With time winding down on the season and coach Jamahl Mosley already indicating he would need some ramp-up period and be on a minute restriction when he returns, it is looking increasingly more likely Suggs could be out for the year, leaving him playing a career-low 35 games. Suggs has missed 24 of the last 25 games with a low back strain first before this knee injury and he will miss more.
That makes the picture for the Magic even cloudier than it already was.
A lost season?
This was supposed to be a season to see the Orlando Magic grow and reach closer to its full potential after the team's breakthrough into the Playoffs last year.
Even president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said he was hesitant to do anything at the trade deadline because the team had not been healthy and all together at all this season.
As things stand, the Magic have played 97 minutes across six games with an elite defensive rating of 100.5 points allowed per 100 possessions and a +8.1 net rating when Jalen Suggs, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner on the floor together. That is at least some positive sign. But the Magic have not played that critical trio together very much.
The last time they played together was the start of the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons when Franz Wagner scored 25 of his 32 points in the quarter and the Magic flipped a two-point deficit into a 14-point lead before Suggs left the game with his knee injury.
It has been hard to evaluate this team and its potential because the team has not been together. Even that win over the Pistons was just Wagner's second game back after tearing his right oblique.
The Magic's season has gone from one injury to the next.
It started with Paolo Banchero tearing his right oblique in late October. Wagner tore his oblique in early December. Suggs went down with a back injury in early January before Banchero and Wagner returned. And now Suggs is out with the knee issue, missing more time than the two other key players entirely.
The whole picture makes it nearly impossible for the Magic to see what they were supposed o be. It has made it impossible to properly evaluate what this season is and supposed to be.
Were the Magic actually good enough to earn the 4-seed as they hoped at the beginning of the season? Were they good enough to win a Playoff series?
Those are questions we will never know.
The Magic are instead 29-32 and seventh in the Eastern Conference. They are fending off division rivals in the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks for the top spot in the Play-In Tournament. Their chances of catching the streaking Detroit Pistons for sixth are fading.
The reality is the Magic are where they are whether it is because of injuries or inherent flaws in the roster. They will have to move forward with the information they have and who they have been this season.
Orlando's flaws and needs are still apparent as they enter an offseason after what looks and feels like a lost season. A lot of players and personnel within the organization will be under pressure to improve on multiple fronts.
The Magic will work to improve the team with the incomplete picture this injury-filled season has provided. But they know there are clear holes to fill and correct.
What's left for the season
There is still a quarter of the season left to make something of the season. The Orlando Magic will not give up on that even if Jalen Suggs is ultimately out for the rest of the season.
There is still vital basketball to play. There is still something to learn.
"I think it's important. It's the end of the year. It's getting to be March. Any basketball played beyond March is high-level hoops," Suggs told reporters after Thursday's game. "We're still in the hunt to play those at the end of the year.
"I know for a fact, we're going to be in there playing games and having a chance to go play in the playoffs. No matter what the seed looks like, all you want to do is get in. You want to come out and play well, but it's important to see the bigger picture and what we're working toward. As long as we get in there, we've done our job and give ourselves a chance to go win a series."
The Magic will have to work with the roster they have as flawed and injured as it might be. That is the only thing left to do as they try to run through the finish line.
That may be with or without Suggs.
Increasingly in the last few weeks, Mosley has talked about Suggs and the big picture with him. Orlando did not want to risk any long-term health with him.
Ultimately, the Magic know they have a bright future ahead of them. The Magic still saw their two best players establish themselves as clear All-Star-level players. And that is plenty to build around moving forward even if the Magic did not get everything they wanted out of the season.
Orlando will have plenty of time to eulogize and evaluate this season when it ends in April. But injuries will be a big part of that story and the reason for a lot of the frustration.