Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs did not get the desired result in his return from an eight-game absence, but he was happy to be back nonetheless.
ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic welcomed Jalen Suggs back to the lineup in a 119-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday.
Suggs had missed eight games with a Grade 1 right MCL contusion, and while it may not have been the result he was hoping for, he was happy to be back.
“Yeah, I feel great playing basketball again,” he said after the game. “It felt great to make plays, hear the crowd, just do all that in real time, have that experience again. So, it was love. Don't like losing, but sometimes you can't control that. So, you know, I feel good playing out there. I feel good to be back with the brothers, and we'll keep working on building.”
Suggs finished the game with nine points and six assists in just over 24 minutes of action. Afterward, he took time to reflect on where his team fell short in an incredibly difficult shooting night.
“I thought we got some pretty decent ones to be honest,” Suggs said about the looks the Magic had. “I thought we were passing up a couple good ones. I love the mindset. I think it's tough, man. We went through a couple of stretches and we just couldn't get some buckets when we needed them.”
The Magic shot just 11-of-40 from 3-point range, which ultimately became their undoing.
“I don't think that we were able to string enough together to go on a 7-0 run; 10-0 run, or something like that to really, not only get the crowd into it, but build a lead and kind of get ahead. That momentum is big time, especially if you're trying to play a team like this.
So yeah, I thought that was pretty tough. But other than that, I thought we carried a lot of good moves for each other. They didn't all drop.”
Despite the poor shooting night, Suggs was able to open the game with a 27-foot pullup jump shot from the top of the key to get Orlando on the board first.
“Yeah, jumper felt good,” he said. “Been working on that, especially off the dribble, I'm trying to create space to get to that, watch some different films with some different guys. see how they create it, and then just go rep it out.
So, that felt good. I was working on that one.”
Suggs recently expressed how trying it was for him to remain patient during his rehabilitation process and how it helped him grow. Now that the Magic are losers of three games in a row, he is trying to apply what he’s learned through personal adversity to help lead the team.
“Just trying to apply everything that I've taken throughout the year, from when I was playing early to how film sessions and things we're talking about,” Suggs said. “All experience is good experience, you know what I'm saying? So, I take them all.
Trying to keep spirits up, trying to keep speaking, you know, life and positivity and confidence into everybody, I think is the main thing I'm trying to do throughout the flow.”
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