Despite the Orlando Magic once again losing in tough fashion, this time 130-101 to the Atlanta Hawks to complete a season-series sweep, there was still one major positive to take away from the matchup: the return of star forward Franz Wagner.

Wagner had missed significant time since before the All-Star break after reaggravating his injury, making his return an important step for Orlando as the regular season winds down. While it may take some time for him to fully settle back into the rotation and regain his rhythm, Wagner was already hard on himself after playing 20 minutes in his first game back.

“I feel all right,” Wagner said. “It's definitely an adjustment and it's going to be part of the process, but it felt good to be out there. Obviously there's going to be some rust. I tried to play really hard, focus on my assignment, stuff like that. Obviously some shots didn't fall, but at the end of the day we played terrible as a team. So in the 20 minutes I was out there, I wish I could have done a better job.”

In those 20 minutes, Wagner finished with 12 points and two assists. Even while frustrated with his performance, he also opened up about how difficult the recovery process had been mentally and physically.

“Very tough,” Wagner said. “Being hurt sucks honestly. It's very frustrating obviously not being able to do what you love and rehab can be pretty tough and boring at the same time. So it can be taxing on the mind and at the same time you don't get the chance to prove yourself out there. In a competitive environment that can add stress. It's important to have people to talk to and obviously Mo was a big resource for me. Just focusing on the day-to-day and letting the healing process do its thing. You can't force some of these things and can't control everything in the rehab process.”

For head coach Jamahl Mosley, getting Wagner back could be crucial as Orlando makes its final playoff push with just six games remaining in the regular season.

"I thought Franz in that first stint was trying to get himself going, moving, cutting, playing in transition, defending different bodies, communicating with the team,” Mosley said about Wagner I thought for being back after as much time as he had off, he didn't look like he missed that much of a beat."

Don't miss out on our ROUNDTABLE community and the latest news!

It's completely free to join. Share your thoughts, engage with our Roundtable writers, and chat with fellow members.

Download the free Roundtable APP, and stay even more connected!

For additional coverage, subscribe to our Full Court Magic Podcast!