In just a few days, Moritz Wagner found himself in the middle of small moments of tension with Luka Doncic then DeMar DeRozan. Result of the races: two technical faults which he took with satisfaction.
It was on a voluntary fault, on the counter-attack and in the third quarter, that he angered the Chicago player and provoked his anger.
“I’ll be honest: I don’t want to tangle with him”, explains the German interior at the Orlando Sentinel. “He scored 41 points against us. All I wanted was to not give him a layup. I didn’t want to get inside his head or anything. It’s a bit corny. “
Franz’s brother can say he’s not doing this to tickle opposing superstars, he loves it all the same. To get Luka Doncic out of his hinges, he had shouted in front of his face…
“He is not afraid to come and irritate the guys”, says his coach Jamahl Mosley. “It changes the dynamic of the match and it brings a spark, energy for us. “
Knowing how to do it at the right time
Moe Wagner isn’t just an itchy bitch, he also donates his body on defense. Over 36 minutes, he is the sixth player who causes the most force passes per game. A confirmed success against the Bulls since he got two whistles this way.
“He sets the tone”, says Jalen Suggs. “One moment he almost forced a force pass, forced a pass to the 3-pt line and then caused a foul from Nikola Vucevic. It was a hell of a defensive move. When I went to pick him up, he told me to follow him. We need that, that’s all I wanted to hear. From then on, I was very focused in defense. When a teammate behaves like that, you want to give everything. “
The other side of the coin, when Moe Wagner comes to rub shoulders with players to raise the temperature, is often the timing and the consequences of these moments. There’s a time for everything and while that can energize the group, it can also distract the Magic. It is therefore a weapon to be handled with care.
“We talk about that with him, to know when to do it. If the momentum is good for us, then we have to avoid”, believes the Magic coach. “I’m constantly working on it,” continues the main interested party. “I appreciate seeing the coach stay on the positive, but there are also negatives in those moments. Do not forget the most important. This is clearly a challenge for me. “
| Moe Wagner | Percentage | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | party | Int | bp | CT | Points |
| 2018-19 | ALL | 43 | 10 | 41.5 | 28.6 | 81.1 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 2.0 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 4.8 |
| 2019-20 | WAS | 45 | 19 | 54.5 | 31.2 | 82.1 | 1.2 | 3.6 | 4.9 | 1.2 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 1.5 | 0.4 | 8.7 |
| 2020-21 * | All Teams | 45 | 16 | 45.4 | 34.1 | 81.6 | 0.6 | 2.6 | 3.2 | 1.1 | 2.4 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 6.9 |
| 2020-21 * | WAS | 25 | 15 | 50.8 | 31.0 | 78.8 | 0.5 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 1.3 | 2.5 | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 7.1 |
| 2020-21 * | ENT | 11 | 26 | 40.9 | 37.2 | 87.9 | 1.0 | 3.9 | 4.9 | 1.1 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 11.0 |
| 2020-21 * | BOS | 9 | 7 | 28.6 | 33.3 | 50.0 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 1.2 |
| 2021-22 | ENT | 37 | 12 | 48.4 | 35.6 | 78.7 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 2.4 | 1.0 | 1.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 7.3 |
| Total | 170 | 14 | 48.1 | 32.7 | 81.1 | 0.7 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 1.0 | 2.3 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 6.9 | |
