An MRI conducted on Monday confirmed that Magic guard Jalen Suggs suffered a left hip contusion during Saturday’s NBA Cup game against the Knicks, the team’s PR department tweets. His return will depend on how he responds to treatment.
Suggs had 26 points and seven assists in 29 minutes on Saturday. He suffered the injury while driving to the basket during the third quarter. He’s averaging 15.4 points and 4.8 assists this season. Tyus Jones, Anthony Black and Jett Howard could all see an uptick in minutes during his absence.
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- Nikola Jovic signed a four-year extension in October. The Heat forward has financial security but not a spot in the rotation. He’s been a healthy scratch in five of the last nine games that he was available. He’s also logging fewer minutes when he does play (19.3 average per game, compared with 25.1 last season), the Miami Herald’s duo of Anthony Chiang and Barry Jackson note. Jovic admits it’s a frustrating situation. “The way my minutes fall is really sad. I’m not trying to think about what they’re thinking because I know it’s hard for them, too. I’m just trying to stay positive and help these guys develop,” he said.
- The Hornets don’t feel pressed to make any major trades despite their 8-18 record, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. In an interview posted on the Hornets’ Reddit account (Twitter link), Scotto said that rookie Kon Knueppel “has essentially become the face of the franchise” and “they still want to see what it looks like with LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller, Kon Knueppel and Miles Bridges. They think if they’re healthy, they could be a play-in team.”
- Miller briefly departed the Hornets’ game against Cleveland on Sunday due to an apparent shoulder injury, then returned and hit a key 3-pointer late in regulation. Charlotte pulled out an overtime victory against one of the East’s premier clubs. “It was a huge growth moment for us,” Hornets coach Charles Lee said, per Rod Boone of the Charlotte Observer. “Responding, we felt like we gave up too many offensive rebounds, especially as they kind of got back into the game. And then I thought we had multiple people hitting and crashing, and trying to come up with every 50-50-ball and defensive rebound that we could. “And to see Brandon with 13 rebounds just shows he can give it to us on both ends. He’s an offensive great, but he can be an elite two-way player. And it becomes contagious when you see one of our best players doing that.”