Orlando won at the Garden on Sunday night, and the win cost them their point guard. The Magic beat the Knicks 111-102 at Madison Square Garden, but with 2:09 left Jalen Suggs drove on a fast break, his right knee buckled on the layup attempt and he went down without contact. He was helped to the locker room and did not return.
The news on Monday was better than the scene on Sunday. Shams Charania reported for ESPN that Suggs has a mild bone bruise in his right knee, that he will be re-evaluated in two weeks and that he avoided any other major structural damage. That is the update our fantasy basketball HQ page is built on, and the ruling starts with the calendar: re-evaluated in two weeks is a check, not a return. There is no return date, and nobody should plan a lineup like there is one.
So here is the fantasy ruling. If your league gives you an IL spot, Suggs goes in it today. Do not panic-drop him in deeper leagues, where a starting point guard with his steals and assists does not grow on the wire. The honest flag is the history: injuries have limited Suggs to 92 games combined over the last two seasons, and that is exactly why the stash is an IL move and not a roster clog. Park him where parking him is free, and let the two weeks sort themselves out.
The add is the next man up. Anthony Black had 18 points and 5 assists in his season debut on Sunday, and he is the expected starter at point guard while Suggs is out. The opening is bigger than one job, too: Paolo Banchero is already out for Orlando with a high ankle sprain that costs him multiple weeks, so the touches Suggs leaves behind have one clear place to go. Black gets the starts, the minutes and the ball.
Suggs finished Sunday with 4 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals in 34 minutes, a line that shows why Orlando leans on him at both ends. You are not replacing that with one add. You are covering the window, and Black is the cover. Make the Black add today, and if you want the full picture before you spend the move, the fantasy basketball HQ page tracks the Suggs fallout alongside the rest of the week of October 26 wire.
By Kingston O'Neal, who stashes the starter and adds the opening.