Magic’s Franz Wagner breaks silence on Game 4 calf tightness

Franz Wagner had to exit early during the Orlando Magic’s emphatic 94-88 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Monday to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round series with what the medical staff called “calf tightness”. Wagner ended up playing just 24 minutes, but his time on the court was very much impactful, as he scored 19 points on 7-15 shooting from the field all while recording a hefty plus/minus of plus-17.

Wagner has proven himself to be quite the valuable piece for the Magic over and over again, but once more, injuries have posed a problem for the 24-year-old forward. He ended up playing just 34 games this past regular season after dealing with ankle problems for most of the year, and it looked as though he was finally peaking health-wise at the perfect time.

Alas, Wagner felt his right calf tighten up, and the Magic star simply hopes that this won’t have to keep him out for Game 5 in their first closeout attempt as he undergoes MRI tomorrow to ascertain the condition of his calf.

“Hopefully it’ll be better tomorrow. The guys got it done, so that’s all that matters,” Wagner said, per Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel.

Even without Wagner, the Magic still pulled out the win, thanks in large part to some critical defensive plays in the fourth. Wagner’s absence also paved the way for Jamal Cain to be a game-changer; not only did he throw down arguably the best dunk of the playoffs thus far, he was also huge on the defensive end.

Alas, with the series shifting back to the road, the Magic will need all hands on deck to avoid encouraging the Pistons to mount a 3-1 comeback. A win in Game 5 changes the tone of the series drastically, so the Magic have to be crossing their fingers in hopes of having Wagner healthy for that contest.

The post Magic’s Franz Wagner breaks silence on Game 4 calf tightness appeared first on ClutchPoints.