According to FOX Sports on Saturday, Orlando Magic small forward Franz Wagner of Berlin, Germany will be out a minimum of one month with a torn oblique. Does the injury sound familiar to Magic fans? It should. It just so happens to be the same injury that Magic power forward Paolo Banchero suffered on October 30 against the Chicago Bulls. At the time, Banchero was expected to be out at least a month. Banchero has not returned yet, and according to Mason Williams of Sports Illustrated, there is no timetable at this time for his return.
Wagner suffered the injury on Friday in a 102-94 Magic loss to the Philadelphia 76ers. At the time of the injury, Wagner scored 30 points. It was the third straight game where Wagner scored 30 points. He also had 30 points on December 3 in a 121-106 Magic loss to the New York Knicks and 35 points on December 4 in a 106-102 Magic win over the 76ers.
This season, Wagner is averaging 24.4 points per game, 5.7 assists per game, 5.6 rebounds per game, and 1.7 steals per game. He also had a field goal percentage of .465, three point percentage of .321, and a free throw percentage of .881.
Now the question in Orlando will be who will provide the scoring? Banchero and Wagner were Orlando’s top two scorers with Banchero averaging a team high 29 points (even though it came in only five games). Only two other Magic players are averaging in the double digits in scoring. Guard Jalen Suggs of St. Paul, Minnesota is averaging 16 points and Franz’s older brother Moritz Wagner of Berlin is averaging 12.7 points per game.
Currently, the Magic have the third best record in the Eastern Conference. They are at 17 wins and nine losses.
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