“Let my team down”
Franz Wagner’s bitter break-in destroys Orlando’s dream
May 6, 2024, 7:48 a.m
The (distant) dream of an NBA title has crashed for the Orlando Magic. In the decisive playoff game of the first round, Franz Wagner had a very dark day. “It sucks” – the younger of the world champion brothers is completely frustrated.
A severe slump in Franz Wagner’s performance at the wrong time and the bitter end of the play-off adventure: The basketball world champion lost the first round series of the NBA with the Orlando Magic against the Cleveland Cavaliers, in the decisive game seven in a foreign hall on Sunday a 94:106. Wagner, who had been so strong so far, only managed six points, which was his weakest result of the season. In January, he also only scored six points in Sacramento – albeit in just five minutes on the floor.
“I expected more from myself. It’s sickening, especially now at the end of the season. I feel like I’ve let my team down a little,” said Wagner, visibly shaken. His brother Moritz Wagner contributed three points on Sunday, for both of them it was their first playoff series in the NBA. For the Cavs, who now face the Boston Celtics, Donovan Mitchell once again stood out with 39 points.
Wagner’s outstanding season is no consolation
Orlando was clearly inferior from the second half of the game and, unlike most of the time, could not rely on Franz Wagner: only one of his 15 attempts from the field found the basket – a rate of a good six percent at the worst possible time. Magic lost the series 3-4 and have been waiting to advance to the second round of the playoffs since 2010. The fact that the franchise even made it to the seventh game had a lot to do with Wagner, who had an outstanding season.
Throughout the series, both teams always won their home games, with the Cavaliers going into the decisive duel as favorites. Nevertheless, Magic found their way into the game well, led especially by the once again strong Paolo Banchero, who ended up with 38 points. Wagner wasn’t sure to score in this phase, but contributed to Orlando’s strong first half with a few assists. After eight minutes, the guests’ lead was double-digit for the first time (20:10), and later grew to up to 18 points. However, the guests’ rhythm broke towards the end of the second quarter, the Cavs came closer and it got louder and louder in Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Even simple throws were no longer falling for Orlando, at the beginning of the second half the lead continued to shrink, then Mitchell equalized (64:64) – the fans chanted “MVP, MVP”. The Cavaliers star had an unfortunate first half, only hitting three of 13 shots from the field. In this phase, however, almost every attempt was successful, Cleveland took a ten-point lead and kept this lead stable.