Franz Wagner returned to the lineup Wednesday night, but his comeback came in a tough one for the Orlando Magic. Atlanta beat Orlando 130-101 at Kia Center, and Wagner said the Hawks’ second-quarter surge changed the game.
“I mean, they scored 47 points,” Wagner said. “I don’t think we were moving the ball really well, more stagnant possessions, couple turnovers.” He added that Atlanta’s pace and pressure made the difference: “The Hawks, since the All-Star break, they’re probably the best team in the league and they do it on both sides.”
Wagner played 20 minutes in his first game since Feb. 11 and said the return felt good, even if there was still rust to shake off. “I mean, I feel right,” he said. “It’s definitely an adjustment and it’s going to be part of the process, but it felt good to be out there.”
The German forward finished with 12 points, but he was blunt about the team result. “Obviously there’s going to be some rust,” Wagner said. “I tried to play really hard, focus on my assignment, stuff like that. And obviously some shots didn’t fall, but at the end of the day, we played terrible as a team.”
Orlando was outscored 47-32 in the second quarter and never recovered. Wagner said the Magic need both tactical fixes and a better competitive edge when games start to slip.
“I think part of it is strategy and X’s and O’s, and then I think the other part is just mentality, just having pride out there,” he said. “To be honest, I don’t think we’ve been doing that consistently and tonight was another night like that.”
He said the issue is not limited to one bad stretch, but to repeated lapses. “There’s just stretches that are inexcusable honestly at this level,” Wagner said. “It’s hard to put a finger on it. It comes on runs, and we do a bad job of staying levelheaded in those runs.”
Wagner also spoke about the mental challenge of missing nearly four months with the ankle injury. “Being hurt sucks honestly,” he said. “Rehab’s pretty tough and boring at the same time.” He credited his brother, Moritz, as a key support through the process.
Looking at the bigger picture, Wagner said the Magic still have time to correct course with six games left. “We believe,” he said. “But we got to look ourselves in the mirror… some of those possessions out there are inexcusable.”
Orlando remains in the East play-in race, but Wagner said the team’s identity has to come first. “We need to build an identity as a team,” he said. “We got to get better at both sides.”
