Jalen Suggs Expected Back in Magic Lineup Tonight Against Cavaliers
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Orlando Magic guard Jalen Suggs is on track to play Saturday night against the Cleveland Cavaliers after participating in the team’s morning shootaround, according to Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.
The fifth overall selection in the 2021 NBA Draft has missed the club’s last eight games with a right knee MCL contusion suffered on January 2. Suggs, 24, has dealt with multiple injuries during the 2025-26 campaign, appearing in 23 of Orlando’s 43 contests.
Despite the interruptions, the 2023-24 All-Defensive Team member has been highly effective when available. In 584 minutes, Orlando owns a +10.1 net rating and a 106.1 defensive rating, figures that would trail only the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder over a full season. Without him, the Magic’s net rating falls to -4.0, and their defensive rating slides to 116.0, comparable to the 20th-ranked Charlotte Hornets.
Suggs has averaged 15.0 points, 4.7 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals while shooting .471 from the field, .331 from three and .857 at the line in 25.4 minutes per game. Orlando is 14-9 with him in uniform and 9-11 when he sits.
The Minnesota native played 48, 53, 75 and 35 games in his first four NBA seasons leading up to 2025-26. He is in the opening year of a five-year, $150 million rookie-scale extension that runs through 2029-30.
Source: Hoops Rumors
