3 Players who will change the Orlando Magic from playoff team to contender

3 Players who will change the Orlando Magic from playoff team to contender

3. Jalen Suggs

As things stand, most of the questions facing the Orlando Magic center on Jalen Suggs. Regardless of whether he ends up signing a new contract before the season begins, it is a pretty big season for the young guard as the Magic put a lot of responsibility on his plate.

Orlando has opened the path for Suggs to expand his game in meaningful ways. In fact, the team appears to be betting a lot of its season and its future on Suggs hitting a new level on offense to match his all-defensive team efforts.

There is no secret Orlando needs a point guard and playmaking.

Observers watching the Magic's playoff series lamented the Magic's lack of production from the guard positions. Jalen Suggs averaged 14.7 points per game but just 11.3 points per game in the four losses. A 10-point, 2-for-13 showing in Game 7 that Franz Wagner's difficult game overshadowed. And Gary Harris averaged a paltry 4.2 points per game on 31.8 percent shooting from deep.

Paolo Banchero even publicly said he would like to see the team pursue a table-setter to relieve some of the playmaking responsibilities heaped upon him.

The Magic did not do that, spending the bulk of their free agency money on Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to bolster their defensive backcourt. The decision not to re-sign or replace Markelle Fultz further turned point guard duties over to second-year guard Anthony Black off the bench.

If there is a perceived weakness for the Magic as they prepare for a second run to the playoffs, it will be their lack of a true point guard.

Then again, the Magic seem to believe in Suggs. And considering that he will at some point get his extension, they must feel pretty confident in his ability to grow into the point guard role.

Excuse those outside for being a bit skeptical.

Suggs averaged only 2.7 assists per game last year against 1.8 turnovers per game. He has averaged fewer than 3.0 assists per game in his last two years after averaging 4.4 assists per game against 3.0 turnovers per game in his rookie year.

Further, Suggs averaged 45.8 touches per game according to Second Spectrum, fourth overall on the team. The Magic did not run him like a point guard and he was not a heavy driver, especially after his heavy drive rookie season ended with him shooting such a poor percentage at the rim.

Suggs at least recovered that to shoot 52.3 percent on 4.5 drives per game.

In the playoffs, Suggs shot 40.0 percent on 6.1 drives per game. He also had 60.3 touches per game, third on the team. Orlando gave him more of those ball-handling responsibilities later in that series to ease some pressure off Banchero.

Suggs' growth as a shooter to 39.7 percent was his biggest leap. It made him a bigger offensive weapon in his third season. The Magic are hoping he maintains that level of shooting. But he also has to improve as a playmaker and creator.

So much of the Magic's season depends on Suggs' growth in that area. Otherwise, the team will have a massive hole they will have to fill moving forward as they try to climb into the contender tier.