Orlando Magic Guard Suffers Leg Injury In Preseason Game
Getting ready for the start of the 2022-23 NBA season, the Orlando Magic saw something that they did not want to see on Friday night in their preseason game against the Dallas Mavericks.
In the first quarter, second-year guard Jalen Suggs was pushed by Mavericks guard Spencer Dinwiddie into Dorian Finney-Smith, causing Suggs’ left knee to buckle under him and hyperextend. The Magic guard fell to the ground and immediately grabbed at his knee in a considerable amount of pain.
Suggs could not leave the court on his own power, as he had to be helped to the locker room where he underwent testing and imaging. After the game, Orlando Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said that the X-rays done on Suggs came back negative and that the young guard will be undergoing further testing.
Jalen Suggs was taken fifth overall in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Magic and ended up playing in a total of just 48 games due to injuries. In total, Suggs averaged 11.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game during his rookie season.
A versatile combo guard that has shown flashes of his full potential on both ends of the floor, Suggs has struggled to remain on the floor early on in his career due to injuries. Not only did he suffer a fractured thumb early on in the 2021-22 season, but then he had to have surgery in May for a stress fracture in his right ankle.
Should Suggs be forced to miss some time with this left knee injury, the Magic will be left thin in their backcourt, as point guard Markelle Fultz is already sidelined with a fractured left big toe suffered before training camp.
The Magic have two more preseason games before their season-opener on the road against Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons on October 19.
