The Orlando Magic were jubilant after erasing a 25-point deficit to defeat the Miami Heat on Saturday. They had to rally with five of their top six players unavailable to injury or ejection. It seemed impossible for the team to rally for such a victory.
There was a lot of raw emotion and celebration for all those who stepped up to deliver the victory.
Things got muted pretty quickly in the game. The Magic found themselves down 25 at least in part because of the emotional drain that came late in the first quarter when Moe Wagner planted his leg and collapsed without contact. He needed teammates to help him off the court.
Sunday, the Magic delievered the expectedly devastating news.
Wagner tore his left ACL and will require surgery. He will miss the rest of the season.
This is a major blow to a young Magic team that is already missing its two best players to long-term injuries. It is devastating news because Wagner is one of the emotional centers for this team and in the middle of a career season.
This is a massive loss to a team that is already so shorthanded. There had to be some emotional reaction. The Magic knew they had to win for their brother. But after the win, thoughts immediately went to their teammate as everyone feared the worst.
"It was for Moe," Goga Bitadze said after Saturday's game. "We're all praying for Moe. He's having a crazy season. You look at his numbers, what he did and what he has done. We're all praying for him. This win was for Moe. It's really bad to see another one of our brothers go down. But just like we've been saying, next man up. "
Even after the exuberant victory, coach Jamahl Mosley had to address the emotion of the injury asking reporters not to ask questions about Moe Wagner's injury, lest a new wave of emotions emerge. The mood swings from the drain of Wagner's injury to that comeback were seemingly unfathomable.
Clearly after the game, as much as the Magic had to celebrate, they turned their attention to their teammate and brother who would be out.
An important piece
Moe Wagner has been as important as any player to this team this year, averaging a career-high 12.9 points per game and 4.9 rebounds per game. He was shooting 56.2 percent from the floor and 36.0 percent from three.
His emotion and ability to slip in and draw charges—his five charges drawn are tied with Jalen Suggs—was a boost to the team. He was the perfect bench player and should have been considered for the Sixth Man of the Year.
His presence was essential to the team as much for that as his ability to needle opposing players. He gave the Magic an edge and a bravado that was so necessary.
More than that, Wagner's success was a sign of how healthy the Orlando Magic and their culture are. He embraced everything about being in Orlando after the Magic gave him a chance when they signed him at the end of the 2021 season.
His spot on this rebuilding team was not guaranteed. He had to carve his role and his own identity. He had to earn this spot on the team.
As he noted in The Wagner Brothers documentary before he signed his latest contract in the summer of 2023, he did not want to return just to be Franz Wagner's big brother. He wanted to make his own name.
He started doing that in his first full season with the Magic in 2022. He continued doing that with a career-best season last year after he signed a three-year, $30 million contract. That gave him some stability and some assurance of his place with the team—a team option this summer now looms large with Wagner likely unavailable to start next season.
That work ethic rubs off on everybody.
"You're not going to meet a dude who works as hard as him, who is as committed to the game as him and just truly, truly loves the game and at the same time is a great human being," Cole Anthony said after Saturday's win. "To see what happened to him tonight, I know as a team we wanted to get this win for him. I thought he was going to be the sixth man of the year. Hopefully, he comes back and can pick that up. Whatever it is, we've got his back. Prayers up to Moe Wagner. We've got him."
The injuries pile up
The Orlando Magic will still have to find a way to push forward. The injuries have piled up.
Both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are still out with torn obliques with Banchero still progressing slowly in his return as he ramps up his jump shooting and ball-handling workouts and begins lifting weights again.
Jalen Suggs missed Saturday's game against the Heat with a sprained ankle. His status for Monday's game against the Boston Celtics is unknown as of writing, but he was listed as PROBABLE for most of Saturday before being ruled out, suggesting his injury is not serious.
Gary Harris has missed the last 12 games with a hamstring strain. Jonathan Isaac just returned from his own hamstring strain.
Injuries have been the story all year for Orlando. But the team has continued to persist and push forward.
The team is 18-12 despite all of those injuries and navigating the most difficult part of their schedule—a road-heavy start followed by this difficult homestand. They have the third-best defense in the league.
It still feels like the Magic need to find some time to catch their breath—Saturday only became more comical when Wendell Carter picked up two quick technical fouls and an ejection for arguing a goaltending call.
Right now, the Magic are playing without their top four scorers (Wagner was fourth on the team in scoring). And the Magic, who had the eighth-highest scoring bench in the league just lost its best scorer off the bench.
They have a lot to fill in.
But Orlando has been good all year at finding a way. The Magic will have to rally again.
And when Banchero is healthy, they should feel confident about bringing either Goga Bitadze or Wendell Carter off the bench. They still have two starter-quality centers to lean on to help fill in for what they are losing with Wagner's minutes.
This is another setback in a season full of setbacks for the Magic. But Orlando can still rise again. That is something the team has continued to prove with all the wins the team has gotten.
Wagner's loss will be a big one to fill both on the court and emotionally.