Franz Wagner: Learning from the greats
“I look at a lot of the star players,” Wagner said in a podcast with JJ Redick. “How can Luka [Doncic] keep getting space in the zone? How changed Shai [Gilgeous-Alexander] the tempo? How does Jimmy create? [Butler] Contact? How can he go to the free throw line 18 times in a game?” Many of these elements can now also be found in Wagner’s game, even if he himself has not yet reached the level of the examples mentioned.
At this point we are also talking about multiple All-Stars and MVP candidates. But it also shows the ambitions Wagner has. You hardly see any mid-distance throws anymore, it’s almost just drives and three-pointers based on the old Moreyball principle. But Wagner doesn’t have to be the star of the offense, with his movement and clever cuts he always remains dangerous, which can sometimes cover up the weak shooting.
“He doesn’t depend on his throw because he brings so many other aspects into play,” praised Mosley. “He can create for others, he can finish at the rim, he’s fantastic defensively because he can defend against switches from one to four.” You can call something like that a “winning player”, it’s no coincidence that Orlando was significantly better on the field in all three years with Wagner than without him (this season: +5.3, for comparison: Banchero is – 9.1).
To a certain extent this also has to do with the rotations, especially the lines with Cole Anthony, Brother Moritz and Jonathan Isaac (+12.5) were extremely productive for the Magic this season, even if shooting was mostly in short supply here too.
2024-04-19 07:00:00
#Learned #greats
