The Orlando Magic’s first play of the game was Tuesday night. At the beginning of Tuesday’s clash, Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter connected for an alley-oop. Later in the game, the duo worked together to dismantle the Memphis Grizzlies. The squad was eager to perform for a raucous Amway Center crowd, but they just needed to appear coherent and turn toward the regular season with confidence.
The connection between Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter was on full display from the get-go on Tuesday night. They continued to show great chemistry as the game progressed, and the team relied on them heavily down the stretch as they dismantled the Memphis Grizzlies.
With the addition of Terrence Ross to the line-up, the Magics seem to have unlocked their potential and the versatility and weapons they have on the court. And this may be the key to the Magic’s success this year.
After the game on Tuesday, coach Jamahl Mosley commented on the poise of his players. He noticed how they were able to read and react to Memphis’ defense, as well as how patient they were. He particularly appreciated how well they worked together. On defense, he wanted them to sit down and earn stops.
Franz Wagner and Wendell Carter combined their intelligence to become a powerful duo on the court.
Last year, Wagner made 53 assists to Carter on just 5.5 passes per game (0.7 assists per game, 43 total assists). Despite this, Carter still shot 48.1 percent from the floor off those passes. It was the second-highest number of passes Wagner made to any individual player.
Last season, the Magic didn’t turn to Wagner much as a playmaker, as reflected by NBA.com’s tracking stats. Based on those statistics, he had 0.85 points per possession on 3.9 pick-and-roll possessions per game (the fourth-most on the team behind the team’s three point guards).
The Magic want to utilize Wagner’s good decision-making, size, and playmaking more frequently on handoffs and pick-and-roll sets. Whether the team is flowing from handoffs into pick and rolls or playing more traditional pick-and-roll sets, the Magic want to accomplish this.
The Magic rely heavily on making the right decisions after receiving the ball and cutting when passing the ball to create points. Because Wagner is such a menace and impulsive with the ball, Carter will have many opportunities to cut.
The Magic have focused on quick decisions and attacking these initial actions’ created gaps in coverage. A moment later, Dillon Brooks might slide to the paint to cover Wendell Carter on the roll, leaving either Franz Wagner to slow down the offense or Paolo Banchero to slip to the short corner.
Magics Grab the Win
The Magic’s latest additions, No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero, showed up big with 17 points in his first game played in front of the fans at the Amway. He was one of seven players who scored more than nine points against the Grizzlies.
The game flowed back and forth between Magic and Grizzlies players throughout the game, but the Magic pulled away with an 11-point lead with just six minutes to go. The Magics look good tonight and this win will help craft them as a team more going into the start of the season.
THE CONVERSATION.