In Franz Wagner's Absence, Magic's 'Next Man Up' Mentality Faces Toughest Test

With their two best players sidelined indefinitely with injuries, the Orlando Magic face "the real version" of the next-man-up message that they preach. The Magic passed their first test Sunday, but more are coming.

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) drives against Philadelphia 76ers guard Jared McCain (20) in the first quarter at Wells Fargo Center. / Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

ORLANDO, Fla. – Just over five weeks ago on a chilly November morning in Cleveland, Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley fielded these same questions.

The night prior, they had learned that All-Star forward Paolo Banchero would be sidelined indefinitely with a torn oblique. How would the Magic cope?

"It's extremely tough," the fourth-year coach said then. "It sucks. There's no other way to put it."

On Sunday, as Mosley took questions before the Suns-Magic game at the Kia Center, his team was preparing to take the floor without Banchero and Franz Wagner, the fellow 6-10 frontcourt game-changer who suffered the same torn oblique injury Friday night at Philadelphia. Wagner also will be gone for at least a month.

So perhaps it shouldn't come as a surprise that Mosley's answers had a similar tone. In some aspects, for a Magic team that again must adjust to a new normal, this is déjà vu.

"What we need to understand in this business, which is basketball — these are young men that have worked their tails off to get to the point they are now," Mosley said Sunday. "When you do all that work and a fluke, random injury hits you in that way, you can't plan for that. So I think the emotions that I felt, as well as our staff and players, were hurting for him."

"Those things can always happen," Wagner said Sunday, addressing the media for the first time since his injury. "It's just obviously super unfortunate. No one really to blame for it. It just kinda happened, [so] just kind of have to deal with it.

"It'll be a challenge for the team. With that comes a lot of opportunity ... for a lot of guys to step in and get a lot more playing time. The way the roster is, we have so many talented guys that sometimes don't get enough time. This will be good for them."

Mosley said he had no idea that something could be wrong with Wagner. He was receiving attention during one of the huddles but, as Mosley said, "that was it.

"We have guys that are getting worked on in our huddles all the time, so you don't think twice about it and you definitely don't think it's that of all things," Mosley said. "But at the end of the day, that's what comes with this job. There's nicks, there's bruises, there's injuries that happen and you can't plan on them, but you just have to find your way through them and come out better on the other side."

For the Magic, that means a full-fledged embrace of a next-man-up mentality — again.

That mantra fueled a 13-7 stretch in the 20 games after Banchero's injury. Wagner assumed Paolo's leadership position and played at an All-Star level. The defense allowed the fewest points per game.

"When Paolo goes down, you're losing 30 (points), eight (rebounds) and six (assists), for numbers. When Franz goes down, you're losing 27, six and five," Mosley said. "You're not asking one person to fill that void."

This idea of the next man – or men – up fully embracing that role, one that so many preach but struggle to practice, "is the real version of it."

"These are guys that are going down in different situations, unique situations [and] circumstances, so it just goes to show that you always have to stay ready," Mosley said. "For the guys that think they should be playing more, should be playing less, should be in rotation, you never know. There's 82 games in a season, and you never know what's going to happen. So your preparation, your staying-ready ability is on full display every time something happens throughout the season."

The positives, Wagner said, can be relative. But for someone who spent the entire summer preparing for and then playing in the Olympics, then flowing right into the NBA season, he'll get a rare chance to let his body fully heal in recovery. A set of fresh legs for the season's final sprint could be to the Magic's benefit, so long as they keep their head above water.

But that's predicated on the Magic's ability to handle a quick learning curve. They required several games to adjust their on-court makeup without Banchero. Despite the hard luck, the Magic are built on the belief that they can, and will, find a way forward.

"There's not a pity party," Mosley said. "I can promise you that."

A reset began Sunday night against the Suns. Among the adjustments were a quicker pace on offense and an increase in minutes up and down the Magic's rotation.

Season-high minute shares came for Caleb Houstan and Cole Anthony, and Jett Howard's 15 were the fewest of any Magic player that stepped onto the floor. But Orlando needed every single second from everyone they entrusted to play, and at the first chance of asking, Orlando gutted out a by-committee win where all 10 players who saw the floor scored at least six points.

"Cole, Caleb, Jett... they held it down for us," Goga Bitadze said after logging a 21-point, 16-rebound double-double that was instrumental to the Magic's victory. "It's hard when you don't get consistent minutes to come in and change the game. They really changed the game [and] helped us get the win. Shoutout to Jalen Suggs, shoutout to everybody. We've been saying it, 'next-man-up mentality,' it was really tested today. I think we delivered."

"It's just a matter of opportunity," Anthony said postgame. "We're in a situation, I'm on a team where we... can put anyone off the bench on the court, any five out there and I feel like we can go win a game. Shoot, we had a lineup out there tonight where it was me, AB (Anthony Black), Kenny (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) or KCP, J. Suggs and him (Goga Bitadze). I mean, I don't think we've played with that lineup once this year. Nothing close.

"So I truly do believe that we really do have a team that's built like that. We're so talented, we've got such good dudes who don't really have any egos [and] just want to see the man next to them succeed. That's just what it is, man. I'm happy to be a part of it."

Related Stories on the Orlando Magic

• MAGIC-SUNS RECAP: Orlando swept the season series over Phoenix with an inspired victory in game one without both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC'S BURNING QUESTIONS IN WAGNER'S ABSENCE: Now missing both Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, Orlando will require plentiful quick adjustments. CLICK HERE
• FRANZ OUT INDEFINITELY WITH TORN RIGHT OBLIQUE: Bad luck strikes twice for the Magic, as they lose a star for an indefinite period to a torn right oblique for the second time this season. CLICK HERE
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• PAOLO'S STARDOM GROWS GIVING BACK IN NYC: Banchero spent his Monday afternoon surprising kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Harlem with a shopping spree at the NBA Store in New York. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC'S RELIANCE ON POISE AND MATURITY: Orlando has superpowers, ones they've garnered through years of trudging through results to end up where they are now: maturity and poise. CLICK HERE
• PAOLO BANCHERO BACK ON THE COURT: The All-Star forward is making progress toward a return for the first time since tearing his oblique Oct. 30. CLICK HERE
• MAGIC'S 2024-25 SCHEDULE: See the complete slate for the Orlando Magic in 2024-25 and all the details – dates, locations, TV, tip times, and more – that you need to know. CLICK HERE

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