Franz Wagner has become the player the Orlando Magic lean on when the game tightens, but the load is starting to show.
That was obvious in Sunday’s loss to the Boston Celtics. Orlando erased a 15-point deficit and pulled even in the third quarter, turning the night into a grind where every possession mattered. In the closing stretch, Jayson Tatum made the difference with two mid-range jumpers, and the Magic needed Wagner to answer.
He couldn’t quite do it.
Wagner finished 5-for-20 overall and went just 2-for-8 in the fourth quarter. Seven of his shots were blocked, including two of his final three field-goal attempts as Orlando tried to chip away at an eight-point hole late.
Still, the game also showed how much the Magic are asking him to do. He had a career-high 12 assists and kept pressing into the fourth quarter, trying to force the issue.
He bounced back Monday with 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting in a loss to the Washington Wizards, but the result stayed the same for Orlando.
With Paolo Banchero out and the injury list growing, Wagner is carrying the biggest offensive burden on the roster. Desmond Bane said after Monday’s loss, "He’s always been a guy who draws a ton of attention when he has the ball in his hands and when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands," Desmond Bane said after Monday's loss.
I think with some of the things we’re doing offensively, spacing-wise, we’re giving him outlets. He knows where a lot of his reads are, and his guys are.
It’s making his life easier as far as his decisions. He is carrying a big burden right now with so many guys out.
He’s doing a hell of a job."
The workload is enormous. Wagner is averaging 20.3 points per game, but he’s shooting just 41.9 percent from the field and 20.0 percent on 5.0 3-point attempts per game. His usage rate sits at 28.0 percent, the highest on the Magic by a wide margin.
He’s also leading the league with 25.6 drives per game, according to Second Spectrum. On those drives, he’s shooting 50.0 percent and averaging 2.6 assists against 1.4 turnovers. Since Banchero’s injury, Anthony Black is second on the team with 12.5 drives per game.
Wagner said after Monday’s loss, "I think everybody has got their job on the team," Wagner said after Monday's loss. "That's my job to create some advantages for our team. I think that's just how it goes.
My job is not necessarily more important than the next man's job. I have to do my part to help the team win.
I think it’s a challenge. But I think if you want to be a great player in this league, you can’t shy away from that type of stuff.
We’re going to figure this thing out as a group."
There’s no question he has grown as a playmaker. Wagner is averaging a career-high 7.6 assists per game, and he’s clearly spending more time attacking the paint with defenses loading up and daring the Magic to beat them from outside.
He has been better around the basket this season, shooting 57.1 percent on 11.0 field goal attempts per game within 10 feet, up from 56.0 percent on 9.0 attempts per game. But the rest of the package has been uneven. The turnovers are an issue, the mid-range game hasn’t always been there, and the 3-point shot has been a struggle.
Anthony Black said after Sunday’s loss, "I think we’ve got to do a better job creating easy looks for him," Anthony Black said after Sunday's loss. "Whether that is transition, moving the ball, getting him good open jump shots, I think we need to do a better job giving him space to get downhill, attack his man, and being ready to play off his passes. That is going to make it hard to guard us as a team."
The Magic are still sorting out how this offense is supposed to work without Banchero. Wagner is in the middle of everything, and the team is still learning how to support him properly.
Sweeney said after Monday’s game, "I think some of it is trying to get that spacing in the right spots and doing a great job with our screening," Sweeney said after Monday's game. "If a guy has 24 points and six assists and he struggled on 10-for-18 shooting, that tells you how good a player he is. I think he did a good job throughout the course of the game and a number of times tried to find his teammates and play the right way.
Got to keep building on that. He is doing a good job in a lot of areas.
He knows he can get better, and we know we can get better as a group."
For now, the burden remains on Wagner. The Magic need more from him, and they need more around him too.
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