April 29, 4:36 pm: Magic coach Jamahl Mosley confirmed that Wagner won’t be available for the game, according to Hunter Patterson of The Athletic (Twitter link). Mosley adds that he’s not sure if there’s a timeline for Wagner’s return, and his status will depend on how he responds to treatment (Twitter link).
April 29, 10:06 am: Wagner attended the Magic’s shootaround on Wednesday morning but didn’t participate, a team official tells Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link), Magic forward Paolo Banchero told reporters after the shootaround that the team isn’t expecting Wagner to be active for Game 5.
April 28, 1:35 pm: Magic forward Franz Wagner, who underwent an MRI on Tuesday after exiting Monday’s game due to calf tightness, has been diagnosed with a right calf strain, reports Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link).
According to Charania, Wagner’s status for Game 5 of the series is up in the air and will depend on his response to treatment. The Magic have confirmed Charania’s reporting and indicated the 24-year-old will be listed as questionable for Wednesday’s contest (Twitter link).
The fact that Wagner hasn’t already been ruled out for Wednesday’s game is a positive sign for Orlando and suggests that the strain must be a mild one. Still, even a Grade 1 strain typically causes players to miss at least a week or so, so it would be a bit of a surprise if Wagner is active for Game 5. The Magic certainly won’t want to take their 3-1 series lead for granted against a 60-win Pistons team, but calf issues are tricky to manage and can lead to more serious injuries if they’re mishandled.
Despite sitting out the fourth quarter of Game 4, Wagner scored 19 points, matching his series high. Through four playoff games, he has averaged 16.8 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals in 30.5 minutes per night, with a .439/.333/.933 shooting line.
Reserve wing Jamal Cain was on the court for the entire fourth quarter in Wagner’s place on Monday and played a key role in the victory, acting as the primary defender on Pistons star Cade Cunningham and throwing down an emphatic highlight-reel dunk, as Josh Robbins of The Athletic details.
Based on his Game 5 usage, Cain may be the leading candidate to move into the starting lineup if Wagner sits, though Anthony Black and Tristan Da Silva also started several games during the regular season when the German forward was inactive due to an ankle injury.
This series is over, without Franz Wagner Orlando has no chance to beat Detroit, after Orlando they will beat Cleveland, and go to the Eastern Conference final against Boston.
Ok buddy
If cade doesn’t play better they will get upset by the Franzless Magic.
Orlando will struggle mightily on offense without Franz. If Cade and the Pistons turn the ball over 20 plus times it probably will not end up mattering.
Well, Cade played much better but the Magic lost by missing so many free throws.
Tonight they’re back in Orlando, can the Magic close it out?
Get Well Franz 🙏. …..
Pistons now understand what the playoffs are hmmm.
#1 seed my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Big Body Brunson … “Triple B” — 17 pts, 8/13 FG (61.5%). Posting n Toasting.
Gm6 in Philly … yes. Playoffs baby oh yeah.
You don’t mess with a calf strain, even a low grade one. Calf tightness is bad enough. And it’s compounded by the fact that Wagner has missed significant time this year with other leg issues. Not that they are related, but just don’t risk it.
The Magic have a 3-1 lead. Just figure out a way to win 1 of the remaining 3, with maybeeee the hope of Franz coming back for Game 7 if needed. They can do it, but they need good Banchero to show up and Suggs to not shoot one for a million.
The amount of calf strains that became an achilles tear when players played through it is pretty high
Franz should sit out as long as possible and not play until he has made a full recovery
Black has to step now. Magic need him and their depth. This yrs playoffs is full of injuries lols. Might take the healthiest team to go all the way😱
Gme1 — Knicks by 11
Gm2 — Hawks by 1
Gm3 — Hawks by 1
Gm4 — Knicks by 16
Gm5 — Knicks by 29
Do we need an explanation ???? 😳😳
Kuminga not being able to show up 5 games in a row?
Really — he’s suppose to save the day.
Gm1 — 27 mins, 8 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast
Gm2 — 34 mins, 19 pts, 4 Reb, 1 ast
Gm3 — 28 mins, 21 pts, 4 reb,
Gm4 — 25 mins, 10 pts, 2 reb
Gm5 — 17 mins, 13 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast
Kuminga or Dyson have no business guarding Towns. That’s disrespectful. And just ridiculous.
Kuminga is actually one of their bright spots.
Knicks should have swept, so I guess we need an explanation for the 10 missed free throws in game 2 and the 2 pts from Hart and Bridges combined on 1-12 shooting in game 3.
Smh!
Mr. Glass out again
Of course Detroit came out punching tonight, but Orlando stayed in it. To the extent that there are moral victories in the playoffs, this is a moral victory for the Magic.
Huge ft line choke, missing 14 out of 30 in a 7 pt loss. Banchero missed 7 of them.
At this point, game 6 is a coin flip.
Paolo n Cade —— gm6 in Orlando.
Cavs better win this series man. Just don’t know about them anymore.
Cavs’ efficient shooting overall at 53% with 18-36 three pt was the difference last night. Schroder produced 19 pts on 11 shots with 2 ast and 0 TOs.
Ingram going out early really hurt the Raptors. Raptors are 3.5 pt underdogs at home in game 6. In the losses in Toronto the Cavs shot much worse. My guess is that the series goes 7 games.