One stat suggests this Magic guard has been their engine

It's been an up-and-down season for the Orlando Magic, who are currently 18-15 and tied for the No. 5 seed in the East for the Miami Heat. They are currently 1.5 games out of a top-4 seed and two games back of the Jayson Tatum-less Celtics for the No. 5 seed.

Orlando has dealt with the injury bug for most of the season, with Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner each missing most of December with hip and ankle injuries, respectively.

In Suggs' instance, while he's played 21 games, he's spent most of the season trying to find his footing after recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery that he underwent in March. He did not participate in training camp nor preseason.

Yet, he's still found a way to be one of the Magic's most impactful players, according to this key (team) stat.

Jalen Suggs is top-5 in on-off differential across NBA:

Through 21 games, Suggs is averaging 15.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. He's shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, including 32.8 percent from 3-point range and 86.2 percent from the free-throw line.

While the Magic have found plenty of recent success with Anthony Black manning the ship alongside Desmond Bane and Paolo Banchero, Suggs' presence has been vital for Orlando.

Among players who have played at least 500 minutes, Suggs' 12.2 NET Rating on-off differential is tied for the fourth-highest leaguewide. On non-garbage time possessions, his number buoys to plus-14.3 per 100 possessions, the fifth-highest (96th percentile), according to Cleaning The Glass.

Admittedly, I did wrestle with at least mentioning him on the most important Magic players list. There's a case for him being a top-3 most important player, for sure. According to CTG, he improves the Magic by 4.4 points per 100 possessions (79th percentile), while improving its defense by 9.9 points (95th percentile).

Not to mention, Orlando is 13-8 when he plays compared to 5-7 when he doesn't.

He's an elite point-of-attack defender who's still making progress as a play finisher and playmaker. He's a connector defensively that molds Orlando's tenacity and physicality together; they're a tougher team when he's on the floor.

Suggs was upgraded to questionable ahead of the Magic's New Year's Eve affair against the lowly Indiana Pacers. His addition will be a sizable boost, even in a limited sample.

The Magic's game against the Pacers, the second of three-straight away from home, will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. EST.