Magic's Moritz Wagner Reportedly Out for NBA Season After Knee Injury vs. Heat

Orlando Magic forward Moritz Wagner reportedly suffered a season-ending ACL tear, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.

He suffered the injury in the first quarter of Saturday's matchup against the Miami Heat.

It's a huge blow for a Magic team that was already shorthanded, with Paolo Banchero missing nearly the past two months with a torn oblique and Franz Wagner also sidelined with the same injury.

That means Orlando is now without three of its top four scorers. Moritz Wagner was averaging 12.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game off the bench as Orlando's sixth man.

"We're all praying for him. This one was for Mo," center Goga Bitadze told reporters after Saturday's 121-114 win. "It's really bad to see one of our brothers go down. Like we've been saying, 'Next man up.' But this guy deserved better than this."

"I call him a one-man army," he added. "We were all playing for Mo. You look at the crazy numbers he's had this season. Sixth man, definitely."

With Orlando facing this many injuries, the onus will now fall on Jalen Suggs to carry a large load on offense. He's been solid on that end, averaging 16 points and 3.9 assists per game, but the absence of the Wagner brothers and Banchero means the Magic are missing out on an average of 66.3 points per night.

That level of production is basically impossible to replace. And while the Magic gotten off to a solid 18-12 start to the season, the current rash of injuries threatens to impact their postseason hopes—and at the very least, their seeding—significantly.

Granted, Banchero is progressing in his rehabilitation, though he isn't doing contact drills yet. But his eventual return will be huge, while Franz Wagner is out indefinitely but hasn't officially been ruled out for the season.

So for now, the Magic are left to tread water until Banchero is back, hoping that Suggs can lead the offense and that the team's strong defense will carry them through this rough patch.