Keeping Franz Wagner involved will help Orlando Magic grow

The Orlando Magic were seemingly dead in the water in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets.

They look tired and a step slow as the Nuggets beat them in transition and turned their lazy turnovers and misses into runouts and easy baskets. The Magic were down double digits quickly and trailed by 15 at the end of the quarter.

Orlando was struggling to find its composure and its spark.

The light seemed to click on in the second quarter. Orlando suddenly played with some rhythm and energy. They found their groove.

It all seemed to happen with the ball funneling suddenly through rookie Franz Wagner.

This has seemingly been a rare instance for the Magic. They have at times struggled to keep their rookie forward involved. It does not necessarily come down to shots either. But that is where Wagner’s absence can be most notable.

The Orlando Magic found a spark offensively when they got the ball to Franz Wagner in Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. Keeping Wagner involved remains one of the big issues the Magic face.

Wagner is always someone who is going to make the right play. He will not break the offense to go isolation or demand the ball. That is not his nature or his game.

But it is also abundantly clear what happens when the ball in his hands. He is going to make the right decision to get others involved. The Magic can have a fair amount of trust in him.

And so the problem for Orlando seems to be making sure Wagner stays involved. If anything that is typically a good way for Orlando to get its offense going.

It is asking a lot to put that much trust in a rookie. But Wagner has earned it when he has been given the opportunity.

During the Magic’s 12-2 run early in the second quarter, Wagner scored eight points. With the ball in his hands, he was able to manipulate the defense successfully and find his groove. It helped the Magic find their rhythm and beginning a long climb back into the game.

Wagner scored 10 of his 26 points in the second quarter, making all three of his shots, including two 3-pointers. Perhaps more encouraging, in his eight minutes on the floor in the period, Wagner posted a 29.4-percent usage rate.

He followed that up with a 12-point fourth quarter, cutting to the basket and hitting outside shots to help the Magic close the deficit. That seemed to be the biggest glimpse of the team’s future and identity as the team played to the buzzer.

Orlando found some offensive rhythm because the team put the ball in Wagner’s hands and he looked to play and shoot aggressively. It changed the team’s complete mindset.

Wagner is not a player who typically takes the ball and runs with it. He is not a natural scorer or someone who wants to break the offense. Getting him to use his share of possessions has long been a problem. The Magic do not get him involved nearly enough.

In Monday’s loss, Wagner had a usage rate of 27.2-percent. It was his highest usage rate since the January home game against the Portland Trail Blazers.

That kind of usage rate is the provenance of stars. And Wagner has only eclipsed the 25.0-percent mark 13 times this season. Orlando has five wins in those games.

For a 13-win team, that creates a decent (although not perfect) correlation between Wagner’s involvement in a game and the team’s chances to win.

Wagner took just 16 shots in Monday’s game, displaying the efficiency the Magic are hoping he can continue to develop. It was the most shots he took in a game since Feb. 1 against the Chicago Bulls (a 22-point, 9-for-16 performance in a spirited 11-point loss).

Wagner has had only four games with more than 20 shots. He has had only 11 games with 16 or more shots. There is a less of a correlation toward winning in these games — just two wins in these instances. But it shows how few times Wagner has gotten his shots up. Certainly the kind of shots that his talent seems to suggest he should take considering his efficiency and basketball IQ.

Looking at the big-picture numbers — beyond his 15.6 points per game, 36.2-percent shooting from deep and 51.5-percent effective field goal percentage — Wagner is still plenty involved offensively.

He is fourth on the team in touches per game with 49.2. That trails by a lengthy margin the Magic’s two point guard in Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter. It is not like Wagner is wholly not involved.

However, when Wagner does touch the ball, he drives it as much as any player. His 9.4 drives per game are third on the team behind only Anthony (11.8 drives per game) and Suggs (9.6 per game). He scores 6.7 points per game off his drives and shoots 45.5-percent on those attempts (about the same as Anthony).

He is a rookie and while his driving and his abilty to finish at the rim are greatly improved, he is still likely to get caught up and stuck a few times. Still, the amount of times Wagner learns from these mistakes and immediately improves upon them is equally impressive.

But if there is a perception that Wagner is not getting enough shots or is not as involved in the offense as he should be, there may indeed be something to it. Whether that will help the team ultimately win is probably a much diferent question. And one the team needs to be willing to explore.

The Magic have a lot of needs to balance. And they have been relying on two young point guards to manage and distribute to the rest of the team. Orlando has had some struggles because of that and the natural growth that will come from these players.

It has also been hard to contain how good Wagner is and has become throughout the course of the season. Everyone seems to know it.

Carter said after Monday’s loss that the team is trying to impress on Wagner how good he is. They understand he might be one of the best players on the team already.

There is certainly a small amount of positive self talk going on. The Magic’s players do believe they are building something here and that has kept them togehter and kept them fighting through the course of the season.

Wagner though has been bursting at the seams a bit. The Magic are going to have to find a way to keep him involved. Good things keep happening when they do.