The Orlando Magic will not have Franz Wagner available for Sunday’s Game 7 matchup versus the Detroit Pistons. The fifth-year forward is listed as out on the latest NBA injury report with a strained right calf.
Wagner, 24, will miss his third consecutive playoff game after suffering the calf injury late in Orlando’s Game 4 win over Detroit. He returned to the sideline to ride an exercise bike, but did not return to the game. An MRI exam the next day revealed the strain.
Advertisement
That 94-88 victory gave the Magic a 3-1 series lead and advancing to the second round seemed imminent. However, the Pistons have since come back to win the next two games, including Friday’s stunning Game 6 comeback in which Orlando squandered a 24-point lead and scored only 19 points in the second half.
Wagner was the Magic’s second-leading scorer during the regular season, averaging 20.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He also shot 35% on 3-pointers. But Wagner appeared in only 34 games due to a high-ankle sprain.
In the four playoff games he played before getting injured, Wagner has been Orlando’s third-leading scorer at 16.8 points per game, shooting 33% on 3s while also averaging 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals.
Advertisement
Would the Magic have already closed out this series if Wagner had been available? In his place, Jamal Cain scored three points and Tristan da Silva added 10 off the bench in Game 6.
It’s certainly possible Wagner would have shot as poorly as his teammates (35% from the floor). Paolo Banchero hit four of his 20 shots, Desmond Bane shot 7-of-18 and Jalen Suggs went 1-for-10.
Orlando’s season is at stake, but Wagner’s absence indicates how seriously calf injuries are currently viewed in the NBA. Teams have taken extra caution with treatment and recovery, especially when calf injuries have often developed into season-ending Achilles injuries.
Advertisement
The Magic and Pistons tip off for Sunday’s Game 7 from Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Read the full article here