Franz Wagner was cooking Thursday against the Detroit Pistons. It was clear early even in a game where Saddiq Bey was going nuclear on a lackluster Orlando Magic defense.
Wagner was going to do everything he could to keep the team in the game. He continued to wrack up points.
Whether it was coming off cuts as he weaved through the defense and received passes or set up his own shot. He has had some difficulties of late, but Wagner is still a confident guy. And he had it going.
The Magic’s best moments in an otherwise forgettable game Thursday against the Pistons came in the third quarter when Wagner scored 13 of his 26 points. That helped the Magic cut the deficit down to six.
Despite how poorly the Magic played overall, they had a real chance to win the game. And it was a lot on how Wagner was able to attack.
This was not the typical way Wagner scored either. A lot of that came with Wagner on the ball and creating for himself or finding gaps in the defense to attack. Wagner was on a roll.
Franz Wagner has had some big scoring efforts and has shown plenty of potential this season. But the Orlando Magic seem to be going away from him more when it is time to see just what he can do.
So what happened in the game? How did everything get away from the Magic? How did this budding young star take just one shot in the final quarter of the game (a miss at that)?
These are the questions that have continued to frustrate Magic fans as the season comes to a close. It is really something that defies explanation beyond Wagner’s smarts in keeping the ball moving when he does not have the gaps to attack.
As the Magic’s season draws to a close with just 11 games remaining, the Magic have to make it a priority to get Wagner more involved. They have to make it a priority of keeping Wagner involved, even if they have to force their way to it.
Orlando has seen what a Cole Anthony-centric offense looks like (it can be explosive, but is typically not very good). The team has done plenty of running offense through Wendell Carter in the high post (that had a little more success).
The team is starting to run offense through Markelle Fultz when he gets his limited time on the floor. The Magic still have plenty left to experiment when it comes to Fultz the rest of the season.
But Wagner has been seemingly left out of the mix. And continually, it is Wagner’s shots and opportunities that get squeezed.
While Wagner gets plenty of looks when the Magic’s offense is working. Orlando needs to trust him to be the guy to break the team out of offensive slumps and make him a more featured player.
It is at least something worth exploring in these final games.
That third quarter Thursday showed what Wagner can do when he is on the ball. Why not see it played out to its fullest?
He did not simply just move the ball when the gap was not there. He tried to attack and then attack again if the first look was not there. That third quarter was all about Wagner.
Wagner went five for seven in the third quarter with a 33.3-percent usage rate. That is at least some proof of concept that Wagner can take on a bigger role. There have been plenty of instances like that throughout the season.
Yet, Wagner took only one shot in the fourth quarter of the game. He had a usage rate of 6.7-percent. The ball seemingly stopped moving to Wagner and the Magic’s offense predictably stagnated as the Pistons rebuild their lead.
That just seems criminal considering how good and consistent Wagner has been for most of the season.
His usage numbers indeed have dropped by any measure one can find for his involvement offensively.
Wagner is averaging 15.4 points per game this season with a 51.9-percent effective field goal percentage. He is doing this on 12.5 field goal attempts per game and a usage rate of 20.6-percent.
That usage rate essentially means Wagner is doing all this while getting used like an average player. Star players are usually in the upper-20s and superstars have usage rates in the 30s.
That somehow makes what Wagner has done even more impressive. But undoubtedly too, there has been some slowdown for Wagner and his production.
In December, Wagner won rookie of the month averaging 19.5 points per game on 14.9 field goal attempts per game and a 23.9-percent usage rate. Since then, his numbers have all declined (whether he was hitting the rookie wall or returning players pushed him to the side).
In January, he averaged 15.6 points per game on 12.3 field goal attempts per game and a 21.0-percent usage rate. In February it dropped to 14.7 points per game on 11.6 field goal attempts per game and a 19.8-percent usage rate.
So far in March, Wagner is averaging 14.6 points per game on 11.8 field goal attempts per game and a 19.7-percent usage rate. That at least seems to be his floor.
Wagner has still put up good numbers. But his lack of involvement has always been a bit baffling. Maybe the team is protecting him or trying to use him a certain way. Maybe they are trying to preserve his legs to get him through the 82-game season.
But the frustration from fans is boiling a bit and it is clearer and clearer Wagner should have more responsibility and opportunity on the floor.
Orlando should at least think about what lie looks like with Wagner as a more featured scorer within the offense and not just an attacker in transition or someone to swing the ball to for an open 3-pointer.
What Wagner’s ultimate role is for the Magic beyond this season is still a bit of a mystery. But that is only because his ultimate ceiling feels uncertain too.
It is clear the Magic need to make him a featured part of this rebuild and that means making him more involved in the offense consistently and building the offense more to his skills.
That is part of the problem because he fits so easily into everything. It is easy for him to ease into the background because he is so good at doing things in the background. The team has to push him to the front more.
Wagner has been extremely impressive this season. He has blown away every expectation the Magic had for him as a player. And there is certainly the feeling he could be a future All-Star.
Wagner has displayed All-Star potential. But he is not exactly used like an All-Star.
As this season nears its end, the Magic need to give Wagner the star treatment and make sure to keep him involved so they have a better idea of what they can expect of him next season.