In the night of Wednesday, basketball world champion Franz Wagner and his team played for a play-off ticket against the Atlanta Hawks.
Basketball world champion Franz Wagner is expecting a difficult task in the Play-in tournament of the NBA. “It will be a hard game. Not everything will run perfectly. The team that best survives the runs and keeps a cool head will keep the upper hand,” said Orlando Magic’s professional before the important duel with the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday (1.30 a.m.).
The winner of the game secures a ticket for the play-offs and meets defending champion Boston Celtics in the first round. The loser gets a second chance and will play against the winner of the play-in game between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat on Friday (local time). The winner of this co-game is dealing with the main round Cleveland Cavaliers.
Wagner failed against Cleveland last year
For Wagner, who was recently spared at the main round end, his second play-off participation after 2024. In the previous season, Orlando only failed in the crucial game seven in Cleveland. “Experience is the best teacher. We have learned a lot from it. Hopefully that can help us in the game,” said the 23-year-old.
A total of four play-off tickets are awarded at the Play-in tournament-two each in the east and west. For this, the teams compete against each other in places seven to ten of the respective conferences. Orlando became seventh, Atlanta. Chicago and Miami followed in the places nine and ten.