RealGM

Hey all,

Just wanted to take a minute to recognise the very impressive season Mo Wagner is having for us.

Not long ago, most of us valued him as "a great way to keep his brother in Orlando".

But this year he's really taken a leap across the board.

Better defender. He's gone from poor to pretty damn decent in 2 seasons.

More efficient. He's scary efficient. If theres a player in the NBA today with better touch around the rim, I'd like to know who it is. And his usage is up, so the improvement is real.

He's dialled back the 3s volume, which at times we miss, but he's just automatic.at the basket.

Roll man & Off ball movement. Guy is just finding open seams and has a telepathy with Ingles. Rarely fumbles the pass and sets himself up for the layup with great footwork and patience.

Screen setting. He gets it. Sets a proper screen, makes guards think twice about trying to climb theough him.

Takes charges like a champ.

One of the beating hearts of the squad.

Other teams hate him.

Rebounding. Much improved effort, boxing out and timing/execution. He's become a genuine 2nd-chance-point threat.

All in all, he's giving the Magic everything and more you'd expect from a guy with his role. And has dramatically reduced his perceived weaknesses.

Terrific piece of business getting him off the scrapheap. Hes been a lottery ticket. Maybe not state lottery, but a big win.

I’ve been very happy with Mo too, I’d venture to say he’s pretty close to being a core piece to this team the way he’s played. The Wagner brothers are definitely keepers here for the immediate future. The Magic as a franchise always needed an agitator and outside of Matt Barnes forever ago, we haven’t had one till Mo arrived. He gets under the skin of his opponents, and that’s a priceless skill set for a team built on defense.

Moritz has some of the best hands I’ve ever seen on a big man.

The amount of passes the dude catches in traffic while on the move that he’s able to still convert into a layup is extremely impressive.

Knightro wrote:Moritz has some of the best hands I’ve ever seen on a big man.

The amount of passes the dude catches in traffic while on the move that he’s able to still convert into a layup is extremely impressive.

THIS.

I remember watching Biyombo, Steven Hunter, Foyle, and those other bigs we have always losing the ball when we pass it to them.

Lakers will probably eventually trade for him to get him back.
Or try to anyhow.

CZ Eddie wrote:Lakers will probably eventually trade for him to get him back.
Or try to anyhow.

AD for Moe and i think i can stomach it.

I rather have Moe Wagner on our team than Vucevic.

Hes a legit rotation player and he keeps our 2nd best player happy. Hes a no brainer part of our core.

He really ticks a ton of boxes. And he's become a guy who can take the team on his back offensively for short bursts to get you back into it.

To be the #5 ranked defence, you can't have any guys not pulling their weight. Otherwise oppos will just hunt the weak link. Mo is doing a solid job of not being that guy, while he shines on the O side.

Makes me confident Mose can sign an offense-first guard like a Monk or a Simons and at least get him functional on D. He's done something roughly similar with Cole also.

RookieStar wrote:

Knightro wrote:Moritz has some of the best hands I’ve ever seen on a big man.

The amount of passes the dude catches in traffic while on the move that he’s able to still convert into a layup is extremely impressive.

THIS.

I remember watching Biyombo, Steven Hunter, Foyle, and those other bigs we have always losing the ball when we pass it to them.

He's able to transition from catch to layup so smoothly it's like all one continuous action. I'm not sure there's a current big out there with a surer touch at the rim.

I want to point out that there were fans saying that Mo is not a rotation big lol. This was recent despite he being one of the best bench bigs this season. Also last summer they were saying we overpaid to keep him.

Moe Wagner is who Vucevic always was…

Guy off the bench that scores inside 95% of the time and NOT your #1 option on offense.

Moe has stepped up a lot this season in the second unit. If he had better defensive ability he’d be a starter. Unfortunately he doesn’t match well with Paolo at all.