There is one thing everyone knows about Jalen Suggs: He will leave everything on the floor. He will pour his heart and soul into every moment he is on the court. There is nothing left in him after every game he plays.
It is that spirit, joy, and passion he brings that makes him so essential to everything the Magic do.
It could be looking at the blood-stains on his tights as he flings his body into the paint and at offensive players. It could be the bravado in which he shoots big threes, often finding some fan on the road to start jawing with good naturedly just to get himself going. It is on the pain in his face when the team comes up short.
It is that latter point that Suggs has been feeling more and more for the last month.
The weight of this team has squarely been on his shoulders not just for his energy and intensity but for carrying the team's offense. It has been a responsibility he has carried well at times and struggled with in others.
Without Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, all eyes have been on Jalen Suggs. He has not shied from the spotlight, even if he was not always successful under it. Suggs took to the spotlight with the usual joy he brings to the game.
"You kind of get a glimpse into the mindset and mind frame of what P[aolo Banchero] is going through when he's out on the floor or Franz [Wagner] is going through when he's out there on the floor," Suggs said after the Orlando Magic's loss to the New York Knicks in late December. "It's been a great learning experience for me. I've grown as a player for sure and as a person throughout this stretch."
Suggs has gotten a long glimpse at life as the star for the last month.
In all instances, it proved a strong learning experience for him. Something that showed where his game can still grow and how much he can contribute when trusted to make the key decisions in a game.
Like so many things for this Magic team in the last two months, it will prove a critical learning experience for them that will make them a better team in the long run. Suggs will be better having carried this heavy weight.
Suggs' career season
Jalen Suggs is having a career season.
He is averaging a career-high 16.4 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game. He is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor and 31.2 percent from three, part of the cost of increased usage.
Since Franz Wagner's injury when Jalen Suggs was left as the Magic's main star, he is averaging 18.6 points on 16.1 field goal attempts per game. He is shooting 41.0 percent from the floor with a superstar usage rate of 33.3 percent. That means one in every three possessions when Suggs is on the floor ended with a Suggs shot or turnover.
Suggs has been everything for this team.
"It makes it a bit harder to go and hide on the basketball court because you're constantly in actions, constantly touching the rock, and constantly viewed to make a play but not only for yourself but for others as well," Suggs said after the loss to the Knicks. "That is something I continue to work on and differentiate when it is time to go, when it is time to find guys, when it is time to slow the game down and when we have to speed it up to create a run of our own or when we are on a run to put the foot to the pedal and kick it from a six-point game to 12 to 18."
He has turned the ball over plenty—3.3 per game since Wagner's injury. He still seems to be going too fast and playing without the composure necessary from a lead player.
Suggs' emotions have gotten the better of him at times. He wears his heart on his sleeve and that can be a detriment when he has so much on his plate. It was part of what cost the Magic their loss to the Heat, helping keep them in the game with some frustration fouls. Suggs seemingly took losses like the one at Milwaukee harder than most.
That he cares so much is why everyone loves him. But it is hard to survive an entire season taking every defeat that hard. Just like it is hard to stay healthy flinging his body all over the place.
The Orlando Magic had to take him out of the loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder after he tried to play through a severely sprained ankle. The back strain that led to the scary moment in Friday's win over the Toronto Raptors seemed inevitable with the weight he was carrying.
Flashes of potential
Jalen Suggs still showed flashes of his scoring ability. And Suggs had a penchant for stepping up late in games when his team needed the spark the most. That has always been at the heart of Suggs' impact.
Included in those games was his strong fourth quarter to defeat the Phoenix Suns in the first game without Wanger. He had a career-high 32-point effort in the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks during the NBA Cup quarterfinal. He scored 29 points in the last-second loss to the Miami Heat. He had 27 in the second home loss to the New York Knicks.
It was an odd feeling because no one could blame Suggs much for his efforts. He started looking like the player the Orlando Magic thought they were drafting with the fifth pick. He was a true star and scorer shouldering that heavy burden.
But Suggs always felt like he could do more because winning is ultimately how Suggs wanted himself to be measured.
"He's going to continue to put a lot on himself because it is what he demands of who he is and the work in which he puts in," coach Jamahl Mosley said before the loss to the New York Knicks in late December. "Our conversations consist of the things that he sees, the things that I see. It's what he feels as he is out there alongside of what I'm seeing. The more he communicates, the better it is. I think we have a great rapport when it comes to that being able to communicate his growth, getting other guys involved but still being in attack mode."
Suggs knows he can take over games now on offense as much as he can take things over on defense. He is better at making the right decisions and when to imprint himself on the game.
But he still has plenty he has to improve. This season has still been a season of growth. He has taken a step in his game, earning that massive extension from the offseason. But even he is likely to be happy to return to his role as defensive sparkplug and supporting player on offense.
"It hasn't been easy," Suggs said. "But I wouldn't want it any other way. We've had good moments to look back on and be proud of and ones to take and learn from. A lot of the things that I've been learning through this stretch will be crucial for the rest of my career and continuing to grow personally and gaining information and knowledge to share with young fellas as they come into this league."
No player likely will benefit more from Paolo Banchero's imminent return than Jalen Suggs. Suggs has seen his spot-up attempts shrink dramatically.
He shot 42.5 percent on 8.0 3-point attempts per game, making 53.1 percent of his 6.4 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game in the five games Banchero played. Since Wagner's injury, Suggs has shot 30.4 percent on 6.9 3-point attempts per game and 25.9 percent on 2.7 catch-and-shoot attempts per game.
Suggs' shot profile has changed to the most inefficient shots in his starring role. He is surely looking forward to the kind of easy shots that a player like Banchero can create for him. That is what bringing back a star like Banchero will do. He creates easy shots for his teammates.
But one thing should not change. The areas where Suggs succeeded as an attacker and organizer to lead this team for the last month must carry over. Suggs can be someone who can create easy shots for his teammates too.
He will still need to play that role at least until Wagner returns.
Suggs learned a lot in the spotlight for the last month. He has come out a better player for it. But there is still more work to do. And Suggs still has more to grow.