Who are the Orlando Magic's 4 most important duos for the Playoffs
Who are the Orlando Magic's 4 most important duos for the Playoffs
Cole Anthony and Moe Wagner
+3.1 net rating, 114.1 offensive rating/108.5 defensive rating, 856 minutes
Cole Anthony has had an up-and-down season for sure. But March has been a good month for him at 11.7 points per game. He has scored 15 or more points in four of Orlando's last six games.
Anthony is vitally important to Orlando's chances to succeed in the playoffs considering the Magic have the fourth-highest scoring bench in the league and Anthony has been an anchor for that group. He has also stayed healthy all year, leading the Magic with 73 games played.
The Magic do not feature many players who can isolate and create their own shot. So although Anthony does take some contested shots his ability to isolate is extremely valuable.
Anthony is playing 23 minutes per game for the Magic this season. That will likely increase in the playoffs. It has already started to creep up a bit. In Orlando's last four games, Anthony is playing just about 25 minutes per game.
In addition to opening the floor, and bailing this offense out of some tough situations, he also has improved recently on the defensive end and has gotten a steal for the Magic in 3 of their last 4 games.
Cole Anthony and Gary Harris are both at a +/- of +1.4 per game which is only behind Joe Ingles, Franz Wagner and Jonathan Isaac. He also distributes the ball better than some may expect with a 19.9 assist percentage.
Early in the year, Cole Anthony was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Although he may not be a candidate at the end of the season, he is still possesses incredible skill and makes a massive impact on this team's very good second unit.
Moe Wagner has been a model of consistency for the Magic this year and has scored at least 15 points in 17 out of the 25 games he has played 20 minutes or more. He currently has the best true shooting percentage of his career at 67.2 percent. Wagner's offensive rating of 114 ranks only behind Ingles and Isaac.
He has built chemistry this year throughout the second unit with players like Cole Anthony and Joe Ingles -- both of whom love to run the pick and rolls with Wagner.
Wagner's ability to find the opening of a defense on the pick-and-roll has him currently leading the second unit at 7.4 points per game in the paint. The Magic score 1.32 points per possession with Wagner as the roll man on pick and rolls.
As a duo, Anthony and Wagner contribute greatly to the Magic's overall success. They will need to play well for Orlando to be successful.