Moritz Wagner is arguably the most adept at provoking the opposing star in the active league, for example, in the Magic's match against the Lone Ranger the other day, Wagner angered the Lone Ranger's rising star Luka Doncic.
In an offensive round against the Magic, nova Jalen Saggers scored 2+1 for the Magic and then Moritz Wagner roared at lone ranger rising star Luka Doncic, which also caused the latter to be dissatisfied and pushed Wagner from behind. Even as both players were pulled apart by their respective teammates, Doncic continued to express his displeasure and spewed trash at Wagner.
In the end, the referee gave Moritz Wagner and Luka Doncic a technical foul each. Of course, Doncic was eventually punished by the referee for his provocative response to Wagner, but Wagner's purpose was clearly achieved. In fact, this is not the first time Wagner has provoked an opponent, he is the player in the Magic team who is very good at doing this, not to mention that while playing for the Wizards, Wagner provoked the Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo and caused the latter to be suspended for one game because of the head hammer.
In a way, moritz-wagner's provocative moves on the pitch are actually more of a concern than his actual performances, which may not be a good thing, but that's part of his role in the current Magic, and the team also needs him on the pitch to disrupt the rhythm of opponents.
Wagner became a consistent goalscorer
In contrast to his "drama" of provoking opponents on the court, Moritz Wagner has actually been able to prove himself to be a fairly consistent player on the offensive end so far this season, and he can help the Magic rotate the lineup wherever he is needed.
In 11 games playing for the Magic last season, Moritz Wagner averaged 26 minutes per game and averaged 11 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists, in addition to a 40.9 percent shooting percentage and 37.2 percent three-point shooting, which also proves that he is a key part of the Magic bench, which is why he can continue to play a more important role in the Magic team this season.
So far this season, Moritz Wagner has been able to perform more efficiently. He averaged 7.5 points, 2.5 rebounds, 48.7 percent from the field and 35.9 percent three-point range from 5.3 to 2.6 from the field.
It's true that the Magic didn't give Moritz Wagner a particularly high number of chances in every game, especially if the team was able to stay completely healthy (which has rarely happened so far this season), but Wagner was able to prove that he could play efficiently for the ball when he got playing time.
In recent times, with the absence of Wendell Carter Jr., Moritz Wagner's level of play has been greatly improved, averaging 18.7 points, 4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in the three games before the Magic against the 76ers, in addition to 65.6% shooting and 53.3% three-point shooting per game.
In the above three games, Moritz Wagner was able to score 26 points and 4 of 8 three-point performance in the Magic's victory over the Hornets. Moritz Wagner's explosive performance in recent times seems to be largely due to his steady performance outside the three-point line, which means that the stable performance outside the three-point line makes him a more valuable player.
Statistically, Moritz Wagner has shot 40 percent and 57.1 percent from the bottom corners of the field so far this season, and although he has only made 12 three-point shots in both positions, it is still his most efficient three-point shooting point.
You know, Moritz-Wagner is not the kind of player who often makes grudging shots, and almost all of his three-point shots so far this season have been made 4-6 feet (empty) and at least 6 feet (completely empty) from the defensive player, which have a 33.3% three-point shooting rate and a 39.2% three-point shooting rate, respectively.
It also means that Moritz Wagner's 99 three-point shots so far this season at least four feet from defenders have contributed 36 three-pointers (36.4 percent three-point shooting), and this outside shooting ability has undoubtedly helped the Magic's second-team offensive end more obviously.
Moritz Wagner is also a very good player in the no-ball position, and he has the ability to create scoring opportunities when running without the ball, and most of his paint is shot by cutting into the basket and getting assists from teammates. Statistically, Moritz Wagner was able to get 0.9 shots per possession while working as a grade coverer, which also allowed him to contribute 0.9 points per game to the Magic.
Of course, Moritz Wagner's value as a blocker is not just cutting into the basket, or more importantly, the ability to jump outside the three-point line as a three-point maintenance after blocking and dismantling, which not only gives the Magic a better outside threat, but also gives the player who blocks the ball better offensive opportunities.
You know, Moritz Wagner has a total of 38 assists from Cole Anthony so far this season, including 21 assists for Wagner to get a chance to score near the basket, and 14 assists to give Wagner a three-point shot. Moritz Wagner was also able to get 23 assists from Windel Carter Jr., including 11 near the basket and seven from beyond the three-point line.
Not only the above players, Wagner can also get scoring opportunities in assists from players such as Jalen Sargas, Terrence Rose and even RJ Hampton. There is no doubt that in a certain rotation lineup, Wagner can indeed give this Magic a clear help on the offensive end.
How is the defensive end performing?
Moritz Wagner is the kind of player who can still improve on the defensive end, and although he is not a player with particularly good blocking ability, he can still make a positive impact on the defensive end, such as the provocative ability that we talked about earlier that can provoke the core players of the opposing side, but it needs to be clear that this is based on Wagner's physical fitness enough to deal with the defensive tasks of most players, and the Magic does define him as the core of the interior defense.
Statistically, Moritz Wagner is still a player with 112 defensive efficiencies so far this season, in addition to Wagner still has a +0.3 defensive victory contribution value, a -0.3 defensive statistic plus-minus and a -2.6 defensive RAPTOR. Such defensive high-level statistics are indeed not outstanding, but at least it can show that Wagner only has a more mediocre performance on the defensive end.
Of course, no one thinks the Magic coaching staff should put Moritz Wagner in the starting lineup as they did at the end of last season, because Wagner does have players with obvious limitations on the offensive and even defensive ends. Like Michael Carter Williams, his game has obvious flaws, but when he gets the right playing time and rotation on the pitch, he becomes a positive part of the team.
So far this season, Michael Carter Williams is still in an indefinite suspension due to a left-foot injury, and the Magic clearly need someone to fill the role, of course, for now, Jalen Saggers is the best choice.
Write at the end
So in terms of the overall performance so far this season, compared to last season as a player with excellent statistics but poor teamwork ability, Moritz Wagner has become a player who has a specific role in this magic and squad so far this season and can indeed contribute to the team at both the offensive and defensive ends.
At present, the Magic may not need another center player to fill the team's core lineup, and Wagner's playing time in this Magic team has dropped significantly compared to last season, but he can still get a clear role in this Magic rotation lineup, of course, as the team's core lineup gradually recovers, this situation may change.
But in any case, Moritz Wagner has been able to make the most of his playing time and can really help the magic team on both offensive and defensive ends. Overall, the Magic's signing of Moritz Wagner to a two-year, $3.61 million extension (no guarantee next season) with Moritz Wagner over the past offseason is well worth the move.