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The Orlando Magic should have a fantastic taking pictures evening from Franz Wagner in sport seven if the workforce hopes to advance previous the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Shooters shoot, and Franz Wagner, effectively…he’s figuring it out.
In sport six towards the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic pressured a sport seven, thanks largely to Wagner’s contributions because the workforce’s No. 2 choice and his 26 factors. Nonetheless, he’s been nearly a whole nonfactor from three-point vary over the previous two video games.
Wagner had the worst three-point taking pictures season of his profession throughout the common season, taking pictures 28 p.c from three, however previously two video games, that quantity has plummeted to only 18 p.c, an abysmal quantity within the fashionable NBA.
The younger Magic trio of Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, and Wagner are coming off of a dominant sport by which all three scored over 20 factors and overcame a 50-point outing by which Donovan Mitchell tried to hold the Cavaliers to a sequence win. Nevertheless, the sport was a lot nearer than it ought to have been for almost all of the competition.
With round 4 minutes left within the fourth quarter, there was a sequence of performs the place Suggs hit a 3, then Mitchell hit s three in response, and Banchero hit a 3. All of these pictures fell consecutively within the midst of a slugfest. Wagner has to have the ability to contribute in that struggle to ensure that the workforce to have an opportunity at not solely profitable immediately, however in any postseason run.
Within the common season, Suggs shot about 40 p.c from three as one of many league’s high three and D gamers. His shot has fallen to 31.6 by the primary six video games of the sequence, however that’s nonetheless sufficient to attract consideration from Banchero, who has asserted himself among the many high younger stars below the brilliant lights of the playoffs.
Banchero is the one one out of Orlando’s huge three who’s improved his splits within the postseason. Capturing roughly 48 p.c from the sphere and 38 p.c from three, the Magic’s reigning Rookie of the Yr has been nearly unstoppable regardless of being simply 21 years previous.
Nevertheless, immediately’s sport isn’t in Orlando, and in a sequence the place the house workforce has received each single sport, it is going to take a full workforce effort to win sport seven; Wagner should get up from deep for the Magic to outlive the primary spherical of the playoffs.
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