Orlando Magic ultimately gave up as Franz Wagner made terrifying declaration today. Read more…
Orlando Magic Weekly Review: Franz Wagner is really good at basketball
After an excellent rookie campaign and a stellar showing at EuroBasket in the offseason, expectations were through the roof for Franz Wagner in year number two. Despite the general dependency of his production in the early going, it’s probably been fair to say that performance relative to expectations – even if those expectations were unfairly high – was a little on the underwhelming side through the season’s first two weeks. Was there a sophomore leap in store?
Well, worry not, because Wagner’s play over the last three games has been positively scintillating. He kicked things off by hanging 31 and 6 on the Kings, combining with Paolo Banchero to offer an awe-inspiring glimpse of what they should one day become. He followed this up with a hyper-efficient 23, 7 and 5 against Houston, converting at 75.0% from both the field (9-12) and three-point line (3-4). He closed the week by dropping 22 and 6 as he led the Magic to a major upset over the Mavericks. Franz appears to be leaving behind his early season shooting struggles, including the wayward radar from deep. Perhaps most importantly, he’s also been able to exert a little more control over play-to-play sequences, with more assists, fewer turnovers, and a personally positive plus/minus in seven of the last eight outings.
Wagner’s play rarely, if ever, creates consternation for Magic fans; he’s looked like a comfortable pro’ from the very first moment he stepped onto the NBA hardwood. As such, his play across the last week has simply been confirmation of what we were all expecting – a confident and measured playmaker on the wings, with a wonderfully advanced driving game and multi-faceted scoring proficiency. It’s been great to see him really hit his stride this last week.
