Sports Franz Wagner stepped up in limitless recommendations for the Orlando Magic when All-Superstar forward Paolo Banchero tore his oblique.
And now, Wagner has the same ruin.
Wagner has a torn steady oblique in a crushing blow for a bunch that survived the shortcoming of Banchero and can play within the NBA Cup quarterfinals — but now will be with out their 2d-main scorer for on the least four weeks and seemingly longer.
“Wagner will be out indefinitely and his return to play will count on how he responds to remedy,” the Magic mentioned Saturday in a assertion asserting the ruin. “He’ll be re-evaluated in four weeks.”
Wagner became harm in Friday’s loss at Philadelphia. He began each of Orlando’s first 25 games this season, a giant clarification why the group is off to a 16-9 open.
Wagner, with out quiz, has been Orlando’s only player within the 20 games the group has played since Banchero obtained harm in slack October, averaging 26.1 components, 6 rebounds and 6.3 assists in that span — main the Magic to a 13-7 document in those contests, 13-3 of their final 16 games.
He looked headed in the direction of his first All-Superstar selection and became an early candidate for the league’s most improved player award this season.
“All-Superstar,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley yelled earlier this week as he walked in the direction of Wagner speaking with a bunch of newshounds. “I’m telling the truth. All-Superstar.”
All that appears in jeopardy now. If the injuries are same — there is no methodology of luminous how a lot sooner or slower Wagner’s restoration job will be when put next with Banchero’s, which is ongoing — then Wagner’s candidacy for pause-of-season awards such because the MIP honor would be in jeopardy on story of the NBA rule requiring gamers seem in a minimal of 65 games to be eligible for such honors.
Banchero will omit his twenty first recreation of the season when Orlando hosts Phoenix on Sunday. The Magic are hopeful that he would possibly presumably presumably return by the pause of the month.
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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