” Although it was depressing to be unavailable, this injury was a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to take a step back from the situation, reassess my season and change my habits to grow as a player. I needed it.“
That’s what Jalen Suggs said last weekend, days after returning to the Orlando squad. Injured in the right thumb at the end of November, the rookie was absent for almost a month and a half (20 games) and made his big comeback on January 14, when the Magic won on the tennis court. Hornets. A successful return since he had compiled 12 points at 5/8 on shots, 6 rebounds and 7 assists (but 7 lost balls!).
A before and after injury
Subsequently, Jalen Suggs gained momentum: two matches at 14 points against the Clippers and the 76ers, one at 16 points against the Mavericks and above all a peak at 22 points and 9 rebounds against the Lakers. In summary, the former Gonzaga has been in good shape since his return: in 7 matches, he averaged 14.7 points at 48.4% on shots, and above all 63.9% on shots taken from the racket.
Before his injury, his averages were much lower: 35.5% on shots, and 51.5% for shots on the key.
The big difference, therefore, is that Jalen Suggs has been much more effective at finishing in the circle since his return to the courts. And this can be seen in the statistics: while he only made 9.9 “drives” towards the circle on average before his injury, he has gone to 11.5 “drives” since his return. There was a before injury and an after, because the rookie simply worked on this aspect of his game during his recovery.
A studious healing
Right-handed, and injured in the right thumb, Jalen Suggs therefore had no choice but to work with his left hand during his recovery.
” We didn’t have much of an alternative option since we couldn’t work on our shot on our right hand.” explained Nate Tibbetts, assistant Magic coach with whom Jalen Suggs worked. ” For five weeks, his finishes were therefore done with the left hand. His right hand will come back quickly because it is his strong hand. But the supports, the changes of rhythm, the different angles of attack of the basket, these are the things that we tried to duplicate on his left hand. We try to create new habits in him.“
Exercises that the former teammate of Joel Ayayi appreciated, and he evokes the notion of angles to justify this rise in power.
” It’s a new way to approach the contact summed up Jalen Suggs. ” It’s more with my legs that I dictate my pace, and the timing with which I enter the racket. […] I’m looking for new angles on the board, so that when I get into the racket, I’m not just hoping it goes in, but I’m planting those shots. We target specific and strategic angles to ensure easy baskets.“
An analysis confirmed by the assistant: “ His understanding of angles has improved, his game has expanded. He has achieved a certain level of confidence with the work done. It’s never easy to enter this league at 20 years old. But I’m sure that when he remembers those six weeks, he’ll be grateful for what he went through because it gave him, in his rookie year, a chance to take a breather and start on the right foot.“
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Cole Anthony | 35 | 33.1 | 39.5 | 33.1 | 83.9 | 0.6 | 5.4 | 6.0 | 5.9 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 18.0 |
| Franz Wagner | 49 | 32.4 | 45.9 | 34.1 | 84.2 | 1.1 | 3.6 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 15.5 |
| Wendell Carter, Jr. | 40 | 29.1 | 49.5 | 33.8 | 69.5 | 2.0 | 8.0 | 10.0 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 2.8 | 13.3 |
| Jalen Suggs | 28 | 28.1 | 37.2 | 25.6 | 76.2 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 2.9 | 12.9 |
| Gary Harris | 41 | 29.8 | 44.1 | 36.0 | 84.6 | 0.7 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 1.8 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 11.6 |
| Terrence Ross | 40 | 25.2 | 40.5 | 30.5 | 86.8 | 0.3 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.0 | 1.4 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 11.6 |
| Mohammad Bamba | 38 | 27.0 | 45.8 | 34.5 | 75.0 | 2.2 | 5.9 | 8.1 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 10.2 |
| Robin Lopez | 22 | 18.6 | 58.3 | 25.0 | 59.4 | 2.3 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 1.9 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 8.5 |
| Chuma Okeke | 38 | 23.5 | 36.2 | 27.7 | 84.8 | 0.6 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 1.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 7.6 |
| Moe Wagner | 39 | 12.5 | 49.3 | 34.5 | 80.0 | 0.5 | 1.9 | 2.4 | 1.1 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 7.5 |
| Rj Hampton | 42 | 19.4 | 38.2 | 36.4 | 60.8 | 0.3 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 2.4 | 1.3 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 7.2 |
| Bj Johnson | 4 | 16.1 | 44.0 | 40.0 | 0.0 | 1.5 | 2.2 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.2 | 1.0 | 6.5 |
| Hassani Gravett | 8 | 21.4 | 47.4 | 42.3 | 75.0 | 0.1 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.1 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 1.6 | 6.2 |
| Tim Frazier | 10 | 20.0 | 30.2 | 35.3 | 55.6 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 3.3 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 3.7 |
| Admiral Schofield | 16 | 13.2 | 51.1 | 34.6 | 66.7 | 0.4 | 2.2 | 2.6 | 0.8 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 1.6 | 3.7 |
| Mychal Mulder | 15 | 13.0 | 29.9 | 28.3 | 100.0 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 3.7 |
| Aleem Ford | 5 | 14.7 | 30.0 | 13.3 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.4 | 2.8 |
| Ignas Brazdeikis | 21 | 9.2 | 35.1 | 28.6 | 80.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 2.7 |
| Freddie Gillespie | 9 | 13.2 | 40.9 | 0.0 | 42.9 | 1.4 | 2.6 | 4.0 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.3 |
