The Evolution of Jalen Suggs

The Evolution of Jalen Suggs

The Orlando Magic have made life incredibly difficult for opposing teams all season boasting the third best defense in the League this year since the All-Star break they’re allowing only 106.8 points per 100 possessions which is the number one ranked defense in the NBA there are a lot of reasons as to why

Their defense has been such a nightmare for offenses to try and score against but one of the biggest pieces of the puzzle when looking at their success has been jayen Suggs there’s no question that he’s been one of if not the best guard defender in the NBA this season

And not only that but he’s also taken massive strides on the offensive side of the ball making everything that he does for Orlando on the defensive end even more impactful so that’s what we’re going to take a look at today as always be sure to subscribe and leave a like if

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Let’s get back to it now while many are starting to wake up to just how good of a Defender Jaylen Suggs is the defensive ability that he’s showcasing this year has been apparent when he’s been healthy over the last couple of years but his offensive progression is what’s really

Unlocked even more for the Orlando Magic by allowing Jaylen Sugg’s impact to be felt on defense without having to give up anything on the offensive end he’s developed a reliable three-point shot going from a 21.4 % shooter his rookie year to 32.7% his sophomore year and now

This year he’s shooting nearly 40% from three on 5.3 attempts per game it’s fair to ask how that efficiency is going to scale with a higher volume of three-point shots but next to Palo banero who is the driving force of Orlando’s offense it’s really important that you surround him with floor spacers

And so with Suggs it was going to be vital for Orlando’s long-term success building around Paulo and fron that sugs can consistently capitalize on the spot up opportunities that those guys generate for him and he’s definitely been able to do that this year it doesn’t matter how good you are

Defensively if you’re an overall negative on the offensive end then your team is going to have a much more difficult time justifying keeping you on the floor it’s all about being able to find a balance between defense and offense you could make your team 25% better on the defensive end when you’re

On the floor but if your team is significantly worse on the offensive end when you’re on Theo floor then it’s just going to cancel out any benefit that they’d get from your defense the magic don’t have to make that sacrifice with Jaylen Suggs anymore now let’s get into

The defense he’s got the eighth most steals in the NBA this year and what separates Jaylen Suggs from a lot of other guys when it comes to generating steals is that he doesn’t do a ton of gambling when it comes to generating these turnovers a lot of guys will just

Overplay passing lanes and you can rack up a pretty heavy number of steals that way but it can often times lead to giving up wideopen baskets if you don’t manage to get that steal Suggs is just such a pesky frustrating player to try and create offense against that he can

Disrupt his matchups handles and poke the ball away and his understanding of how guys are going to react to his defense allows him to trick them into making a move that he knows he’s going to be able to use as an opportunity to NAB a steel this play it’s a little bit

Tough to see but when Alexander Walker brings the ball up Suggs is going to be forcing him to the the sideline and he knows that Alexander Walker is going to have to pull the ball back to his right to avoid going out of bounds and once

That happens Suggs is able to stick his hand in there and disrupt the ball and create the turnover here vasel is going to come and get this screen from Victor wanyama and Suggs is going to have to fight and try and prevent the three-point shot but even though vasel

Hits him with the timely pump fake sugs is still able to swipe down because he knows where the ball is going to be and he gets the Steal Mark Williams and Hayward are going to set up for this pick and roll and he’s going to be trying to force Hayward left so

Hayward’s trying to maneuver to where he can either get a lane to drive right or get Suggs hung up on the screen so when he pulls back and he brings the ball down low to his right so that Williams can set the screen on the left Suggs is

Going to use that opportunity to just reach right down there and grab the ball away from him one of the best things about being able to generate turnovers like this is the fact that they end up leading to transition opportunities which is just very highly efficient offense and if you’re generating live

Ball turnovers like this you’re giving your team some very easy opportunities to score he’s also a menace as an off-ball Chaser anytime teams are trying to run actions to get a primary scoring option and open look coming off of a screen Suggs is always engaged in following them and tracking them to make

Sure that he’s in a position to disrupt their shot one of the most common off ball screens that we see in the NBA is simple pin Downs for guys to come up and get an open look on the perimeter and since Jaylen Suggs is such a great screen Navigator he’s able to follow

Guys off of those screens in turn what could have been wideopen looks into highly contested low percentage looks alternatively he can run guys off the three-point line without getting stuck behind those off ball screens and giving them a wide open Lane to the basket staying right there with them forcing

Them into difficult percentage looks even if he does get hung up on a ball screen in the pick and roll he’s liable to track the ball handler all the way down to the paint and block their shot when they think that they have him beat also in general in the half court I

Think he’s a very underrated shot blocker being able to come from wherever he’s at on the floor and making sure that he’s helping the helper whenever one of his teammates is forced to turn their back on somebody the off ball defense extends to occasionally operating as a we side help defender in

General with aaji making this cut up the middle and with Wendell Carter Jr playing more up on the play near the elbow it looks like there’s not really going to be any interior presence to provide help down there but sugs already knows what the Raptors are trying to do

And of course he’s going to end up catching aaji by surprise and swiping down on the shot to force the turnover when guys attack the basket against him he’s got really strong footwork so even against guys that can stop on a dime with the ball in their

Hands they’re still going to have a really difficult time creating the separation necessary to get a good look against Jaylen Suggs he’s also great at anticipating inbounds plays and disrupting the ball by knowing where they’re going to be trying to get an open shooter a look from before the ball

Is even in play he generally just has really great defensive instincts and feel on that side of the floor the Wizards are going to try and get Jordan pool an open look here with P ghosting the screen so that he can get this exit screen in the corner so he can get the

Pass for the shot but sugs is going to read this play like a book navigating the action to perfection in crowding pool’s space so that the pass doesn’t connect and the Wizards turn it over similar situation here with a baseline out of bounds play and he’s matched up

Against cam Thomas and the Nets are going to set a screen for him to flare to the corner but again Suggs is going to have it all mapped out and he disrupts the inbound to force the turnover even when he does provide help he’s great at closing out without giving

Up an easy Advantage most guys when they close out like this they’re going to end up giving up a free drive to the hoop forcing somebody else to slide over but Suggs is going to use this unique close out where he’s actually going to angle himself like he’s forcing on a Obi

Baseline but when OG attacks Suggs is going to flip around with his back to him instead of trying to flip his hips around and it allows him to stay perfectly in line with anunobi on the drive one of the cherries on top top with jayen Suggs as a Defender is that

He’s got a ridiculous motor and you’ll often times see him chasing guys down in transition in getting a lot of those momentum swinging blocks especially in high leverage moments of games there’s no doubt that jayen Suggs is already one of the best defenders in the NBA the

Versatility that he shows as a guard and the difficulty of matchups that he takes on on a nightly basis are a testament to how much Faith the Orlando Magic have in his ability to impact that side of the ball he’s got the highest defensive estimated

Plus minus out of all guards in the NBA that are playing at least 25 minutes a night and what’s most important is that like I said earlier Orlando isn’t sacrificing spacing by having him out there I don’t know how far Orlando is going to end up getting in the

Postseason but what I do know is that whatever team runs into them in the playoffs is not going to leave unscathed after having to go through the defensive Gauntlet that jayen Suggs and the Orlando Magic are going to put them through I really hope you guys enjoyed

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It’s been a great year for Jalen Suggs, the young Orlando Magic star who continues to establish himself as one of the premiere defenders in all of basketball. As the Orlando Magic look to build a contending team around Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, the emergence of Jalen Suggs as a two-way menace has been the icing on the cake for a season where they’ve emerged as one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.

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Chapters
Orlando’s Defensive Identity 00:00
Sponsorship Segment 00:49
Jalen Suggs Offensive Improvement 2:04
Steal Machine 3:37
Off-Ball Marathoner 5:43
Underrated Shot-Blocker 6:42
Inbound Play Savant 7:38
Chasedown Artist 8:58
How far can they go? 9:43
Thanks for watching! 9:58

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