At the end of the game, how you got there does not matter. As the clock ticks away to the final moments, it only matters what you do in that moment. And the Orlando Magic were running out of time going down by 17 early in the fourth quarter.
After scoring just 32 points in the middle two quarters, the Magic were desperate to find a spark of offense anywhere. Anywhere except Franz Wagner—who scored 15 points in the first quarter and 20 in the first half. Orlando had to turn somewhere else.
When it all seemed hopeless and too frustrating on the end of this road trip, the Magic needed someone else to pick up the slack. Someone else at least to give a spark and open up pathways that had been closed to Wagner.
Jalen Suggs struggled throughout the entire night. But with one made three on a catch-and-shoot where he did not bring the ball down, things seemed to change. Suggs made three straight 3-pointers to help the Magic cut into the lead. The energy on the team began to pick up.
Time was winding down though. There was a rush and urgency to get back into the game. And that can work for or against you.
After Guerschon Yabusele missed two free throws to keep the Magic within four with 54 seconds left, the Magic inbounded to Jalen Suggs going to the corner. He hoisted a quick, off-balance three-pointer that fell no good.
A bad spot for that kind of shot. But a sign of how desperate the Magic were before they fell 102-94 to the 76ers on Friday.
"The first one was my bad," Suggs said after Friday's loss. "It was good I learned from it. I took that back and apply it moving forward. The second one, I thought was great. Poor execution on my part. Basketball is a make-or-miss league. I missed those two and a couple early I wish I could have back. It's tough."
Suggs may have had 15 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter, including three 3-pointers, but that miss felt more emblematic of the Magic's struggles throughout the game. The whole situation spoke to the formula the Magic needed to follow.
Fanz Wagner is going to get his points. He is going to find ways to lift this Magic team every night. That is what All-Stars do. And after another 30-point effort from Wagner, he is clearly an All-Star.
The question every night seems to be whether other players will come with him. It will be whether someone else can create and ease the pressure on the star. The Magic need a second creator.
And until Paolo Banchero returns, that likely will fall onto Jalen Suggs' shoulders.
It is the area Suggs has been inconsistent. That inconsistency has flown to everyone as lineups with Suggs anchoring the team often struggle.
Suggs struggles as a second attacker
Since Paolo Banchero's injury, Jalen Suggs is averaging 15.2 points per game but shooting 40.1 percent from the floor and 28.1 percent from three. His scoring may be where the Magic want it most nights, but getting there is quite an adventure.
And that does not get to his 2.8 turnovers per game against 3.9 assists per game as he often struggles to be a lead playmaker from the guard position.
Friday night, Suggs had 22 points but shot only 8 for 19. He shot 5 for 10 from the floor in the fourth quarter. The difference between his struggles early in the game to the spark he played with in the fourth quarter only shows how vital Suggs' support is—and how important it is to make shots.
Without Suggs able to make shots consistently or provide a second attacker, the Sixers were able to load up the paint on Wagner and make it hard for him to get on the interior.
Orlando as a team scored only 34 points in the paint and took 26 field goal attempts in the paint. Orlando was settling for threes, going 13 for 46 for the game (a better percentage than Philadelphia). But Orlando missed all 13 threes the team took in the second quarter, making only four field goals in the second frame.
Open or covered, it is hard to win when a team misses that much. Orlando has to find a way to make open shots.
The turnovers too piled up, preventing the Magic from getting into a rhythm or even picking up shot attempts.
"I think it started in the second quarter," coach Jamahl Mosley said after Friday's loss. "There was a lull in play on both sides. We turned it over 21 times for 18 points. You are not giving yourself many opportunities there if you turn the ball over. Our guys fought to the very end. We gave ourselves a chance at the end. Being able to take care of the basketball is crucial in these games. The possessions matter."
This is not just about Suggs scoring more points. This is all to make the rest of the offense work and ease the pressure on Wagner and really the rest of the team.
The Magic's defense was at an elite level again despite all the missed shots—a 107.4 defensive rating overall. But asking the defense to carry an offense that misses this many shots (open or otherwise) and cannot consistently attack downhill is asking a lot. Eventually, it is going to crack. It leaves no margin for error.
Suggs' struggles without Banchero
Some of these issues get resolved by Paolo Banchero's return. When that comes, players will fall back into familiar roles.
That includes Jalen Suggs.
In the five games playing with Banchero, Suggs shot 42.5 percent on 8.0 3-point attempts per game. He was making 53.1 percent of his 6.4 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game.
Since Banchero's injury, Suggs is shooting 31.3 percent on 4.2 catch-and-shoot 3-point attempts per game.
Suggs shot 55.6 percent on 5.4 3-point attempts per game with the closest defender six or more feet away according to data from NBA.com before Banchero's injury. Since Banchero's injury, Suggs is shooting 24.3 percent on 4.1 attempts per game on such shots.
Similar traits are happening for players throughout the roster. Not having a consistent second attacker to get downhill and kick out to the 3-point line has negatively affected a lot of players on the team. It has affected no one more than Suggs even if players were shooting unusually hot early in the season.
Even looking at lineups, the Orlando Magic's most-used bench group with Jalen Suggs as its anchor—Anthony Black, Suggs, Gary Harris, Jonathan Isaac and Moe Wagner— has a -4.5 net rating with an 83.0 offensive rating in 41 minutes together. That lineup with Jett Howard in for Gary Harris has a -16.8 net rating and 86.8 offensive rating.
This may not all fall on Suggs. But it is clear Suggs is falling short as the second creator the Magic need. It has cycled all the pressure back on Franz Wagner to do more and to play more because the Magic struggle so much in the minutes he is out.
The difference for Suggs and for the Magic is what he said sparked his fourth quarter. He made shots.
"It was hard, some of them we were getting some really good looks," Suggs said after Friday's loss. "When things are going like that, we try to stick together and do the things we talk about to get good looks, cause problems and make the right basketball play and not overreact too much to the offense, which I think we did. We got a bit stagnant going to the basket. It's basketball tough stretches happen."
Until Banchero returns, the Magic will deal with this inconsistency. They need a second attacker to ease the pressure for everyone and get the quality looks that make for more efficient offense.
The Magic still hope they can develop it internally with Jalen Suggs or Anthony Black (who had his own struggles Friday with 0 points on 0-for-5 shooting). But that will be something to examine before Banchero's return and as trade season opens throughout the league.