The Orlando Magic are now riding an eight-game win streak after they defeated the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. This is the longest win streak they have had since 2010 and it is one win shy of being tied for the longest win streak in franchise history which has been set three different times in 1995, 2001, and 2011.
A large part of the success of this win streak has been the scoring production from Franz Wagner. In year three, he has begun to shoot from all spots of the floor and this has translated into something that could lead towards a special season for Wagner.
And that is not just about his back-to-back 30-point games. Wagner has been more aggressive all season and he is finally starting to build the consistency and efficiency at that volume that matches the efficiency of his first two seasons.
As it stands three-pointers, Wagner leads the team in points per game (20.2) and total points (363). He also is the team leader in total made field goals (138) and three pointers (30). Wagner has flat-out become the main scoring option for this team.
During this eight-game win streak, Wagner is averaging 21.9 points per game while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor. He is taking 16.3 field goal attempts per game. This is despite Wagner making only 29.7 percent of his 3-point shots during this stretch.
The "quietest" game he has had during this win streak was against the Chicago Bulls in a close game that started this win streak. In that matchup, he finished with 13 points on 31-percent shooting from the field. Since that game, Wagner has scored at least 15 points in each matchup on at least a field goal percentage of 40 percent.
The win streak ahs highlighted some of the eltie shooting Wagner can put up.
In the In-Season Tournament matchup with the Bulls, Wagner helped to ice the game with a tough finish and the foul with 20 seconds to go leading to the Magic's first group play win that would help them go on to be 3-1 in East Group C for the tournament.
Wagner also played a huge role in the Orlando Magic's win over the defending champion Denver Nuggets. With 27 points, he was very efficient from the field shooting 61 percent and he did this while taking 18 attempts.
Wagner's most impressive feats during the win streak have come in the Orlando Magic's past two wins against the Charlotte Hornets and Washington Wizards. He scored 30 and 31 points respectively and did so while taking a lot of shots (15 against Charlotte and 14 against Washington).
He made his first nine shots in the win against the Hornets, scoring 23 points in the middle two quarters to help the Magic stake the lead. He scored 17 in the third quarter of the magic's win over the Wizards to push the Magic ahead there too.
Wagner is a momentum changer for this team.
On top of that, Wagner was efficient with his shooting from both inside and outside of the arc. He was 70-plus percent from the field and 66 percent in each game from three-point range.
Those games were nice to see when it came to Wagner's three-point shooting since it has not been the start from behind the arc he would have liked to see. As it stands, Wagner's three-point percentage sits at 31.6 percent which sits a good bit below 36 percent, the NBA three-point percent average so far this season.
But Wagner has shown signs of hope as he has been taking a similar amount, if not more attempts from beyond the three-point line as well this season.
This is also true of his field goal attempts and it leads to the realization that Wagner has become accustomed to scoring lots of points for Orlando and it has led them to wins.
Wagner's scoring has become an integral part of the Magic's offense and a key part of their winning ways.
The best part is that the three-point shot needs to get its accuracy back and once that happens, he can really begin to make a push for an all-star berth and can really help Orlando's chances of making the playoffs.