If you arrive at an Orlando Magic game early enough, you’ll likely see Franz Wagner going over film with assistant coach Bret Brielmaier on the team’s bench.
Brielmaier, who has previously been an assistant with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Brooklyn Nets, and Wagner have spent their pregames going over Wagner’s on-ball reads since the season started.
“We’re constantly talking about his progressions in each play: where he should be looking, where his eyes should be focused and on who he should be focusing on,” Brielmaier said to the Orlando Sentinel. “Using film as an example to help him freeze a play and be able to start digesting where the chess pieces are and how he can move them.”
Those individual film sessions have become more imperative in recent weeks, with Wagner taking on a greater role as a ballhandler and playmaker with the starting backcourt, Cole Anthony and Jalen Suggs, injured.
Anthony, the Magic’s assist leader at 5.6 per game, has missed eight of the last 15 games entering Wednesday’s road matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Suggs, who’s second on the team in assists with 3.6, has been sidelined with a fractured right thumb since Nov. 29. Markelle Fultz remains sidelined as he recovers from tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in January.
Wagner runs much of the pick-and-roll. He’s responded to the increased offensive responsibilities by nearly doubling his assists — from 2.1 in the first 16 games to 3.8 in the past 15 games — while not turning the ball over significantly more (1.2 giveaways to 1.5).
“It’s slowing down for him,” Brielmaier said. “He’s now gotten almost 30 games under his belt and coach [Jamahl] Mosley’s been able to put him in a lot of situations to explore his game. He’s just becoming more and more comfortable either creating for others or for himself.”
For Brielmaier, there wasn’t one play Wagner made when it became clear to him the game was slowing. But he mentioned Wagner’s “incredible” crosscourt pass out of a double-team from the left wing to Aleem Ford for an open 3 against the Miami Heat last Fridaythat stood out.
How Brielmaier sees it, every game Wagner, “does something new that we all see and we’re like, Wow, that was really high level.’”
“He wasn’t a heavy usage guy in Michigan, so this is a little foreign to him,” Brielmaier said. “He has a very special and unique ability to digest information, comprehend the information and then apply the information. A lot of it is just instinctual for him. He just feels and knows how to play this game.”
Wagner has noticed “every play’s different” since he started to operate with the ball in his hands more.
“Sometimes there’s more pressure,” he said. “Sometimes it’s easy and I have a lot of time. They adjust within the game, especially when you have a lot of on-ball reps. After the game, it’s easy to adjust and look at the film, but in a game, it’s going to take a couple of more games for me to see what defenses are doing and to know what to do.”
And even some of Wagner’s teammates have been surprised by the steps he’s taken not just as a ball-handler, but as a two-way player since entering the league. Wagner, the No. 8 pick in this year’s draft, has averaged 17.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals in the Magic’s nine December games.
“I watched summer league and I watched Franz play, and he did a lot of good things out there, but the leap me made from summer league to now — it’s been like 10 leaps,” Terrence Ross said. “He can do everything out there.
“He reminds me of Gordon Hayward, but with a lot more size. I’m excited to see what he turns into.”
