Magic SF Franz Wagner Must Improve 3-Point Shooting in Game 7 vs. Cavs

The Orlando Magic must have a great shooting night from Franz Wagner in game seven if the team hopes to advance past the Cleveland Cavaliers.

May 3, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) reacts to a call during / Mike Watters-USA TODAY Sports

Shooters shoot, and Franz Wagner, well…he’s figuring it out. 

In game six against the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic forced a game seven, thanks largely to Wagner's contributions as the team’s No. 2 option and his 26 points. Still, he’s been almost a complete nonfactor from three-point range over the past two games. 

Wagner had the worst three-point shooting season of his career during the regular season, shooting 28 percent from three, but in the past two games, that number has plummeted to just 18 percent, an abysmal number in the modern NBA. 

The young Magic trio of Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, and Wagner are coming off of a dominant game in which all three scored over 20 points and overcame a 50-point outing in which Donovan Mitchell attempted to carry the Cavaliers to a series win. However, the game was much closer than it should have been for the majority of the contest. 

With around four minutes left in the fourth quarter, there was a sequence of plays where Suggs hit a three, then Mitchell hit s three in response, and Banchero hit a three. All of those shots fell consecutively in the midst of a slugfest. Wagner has to be able to contribute in that fight in order for the team to have a chance at not only winning today, but in any postseason run. 

In the regular season, Suggs shot about 40 percent from three as one of the league's top three and D players. His shot has fallen to 31.6 through the first six games of the series, but that’s still enough to draw attention from Banchero, who has asserted himself among the top young stars under the bright lights of the playoffs. 

Banchero is the only one out of Orlando’s big three who’s improved his splits in the postseason. Shooting roughly 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from three, the Magic’s reigning Rookie of the Year has been almost unstoppable despite being just 21 years old. 

However, today’s game isn’t in Orlando, and in a series where the home team has won every single game, it will take a full team effort to win game seven; Wagner must wake up from deep for the Magic to survive the first round of the playoffs.

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