5 adjustments the Orlando Magic must make to get their first win

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Franz Wagner struggled as the Orlando Magic trusted him to run point in their opener. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

5 adjustments the Orlando Magic must make to get their first win

Help Point Franz

The Orlando Magic are in a bind right now. They are playing with one healthy point guard in Cole Anthony. They have had to get creative with their rotation and with their roles just to try to stay afloat.

Thus the idea of Point Franz was not just born, but thrown into the deep end and expected to swim.

That has gone about as expected.

The Magic’s lineup when Franz Wagner is on the floor without Cole Anthony or Jalen Suggs has not been good. The team’s worst lineup that has been used in at least two games featured Franz Wagner alongside R.J. Hampton, Chuma Okeke, Paolo Banchero and Bol Bol (a -38.1 net rating in five minutes).

Of the 13 lineups with a worse net rating used in only one game, six of them feature Wagner without another league guard on the floor and two feature Wagner alongside Hampton as a secondary ball handler.

There are a few in there with both Wagner and Anthony on the floor together. That is not some panacea. Right now, Orlando has to figure out how best to fill the minutes with Anthony on the bench until the team gets healthy.

The Magic’s experiment with Wagner running point guard is not a bad one to try. Wagner has the playmaking and ball-handling chops to be an interesting lead playmaker. Orlando wants to use both Wagner and Banchero as ball handlers.

But a big reason for Wagner’s struggles this year — 15.0 points per game but on 41.7-percent shooting and 23.8-percent from beyond the arc — is because he has had to expend a lot of energy bringing the ball up the floor. That has also led him to get fewer spot-up opportunities — 2.0 spot-up field goal attempts per game this year compared to 2.9 last year — and fewer of the cutting opportunities that made him effective last year.

Orlando is doing a good job keeping Wagner more involved. The criticism that he does not get enough shots or touches should go away now.

But he is clearly struggling and frustrated with his play and the team struggles to run its actions when Wagner is running point.

There is no clear solution to this.

Perhaps playing Wagner more alongside Carter to give him a solid screener and a high-post playmaker to ease that responsibility would help. Orlando has a -11.5 net rating with Wagner and Carter on the floor together, so finding the right group right now is more theoretical than actual.

Perhaps ensuring that either Anthony or Hampton are on the floor at all times so the team at least has a nominal ball handler to bring the ball up and initiate actions would help.

Even running simpler sets and simplified actions while encouraging the team move quicker would help a lot. The team just needs to be better organized in these minutes and hope the team can hang on.

Leveraging whatever veteran help the team can for these minutes will help a ton too. There just is not enough to mine to give these lineups some stability. That is really what the team should seek.