Ahead of their NBA Play-In Tournament matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, the Magic held practice at Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

After the practice concluded, Franz Wagner spoke with the media about what the team focused on.

“Obviously prepare a little bit for tomorrow's game, what Philly's doing, and also a lot of just concepts that we want to do,” Wagner said.

The Magic find themselves as the visitors in the play-in after squandering a chance to host the 76ers by losing to the shorthanded Boston Celtics on Sunday. The loss by Orlando, coupled with Philadelphia defeating the Milwaukee Bucks, pushed the Magic back to the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference while the 76ers claimed the seventh seed.

When asked if Sunday’s loss was a wakeup call for the team, Wagner kept his answer simple.

“I mean, hopefully. I think where the season went, hopefully we didn't need that, but yeah,” he said.

Wednesday’s game will mark the third time Wagner has played in a postseason setting during his five years in the NBA, and he understands how the games change in a playoff atmosphere.

“I think the game's called a little bit different,” Wagner said. “Obviously, everybody's playing for their playoff lives, their season, so I think intensity is at an all-time high.”

The game against the 76ers will also be Wagner’s seventh since returning from an ankle injury that had plagued him for the better part of four months and caused him to miss nearly two consecutive months. Since returning, Wagner has averaged 17.2 minutes in 21.3 minutes per game as his workload continues to ramp up.

When asked if he was at 100% health, Wagner could not clearly evaluate it.

“I feel good,” he said. “It's hard to put a number on it, but there's definitely a couple more percent left in the tank.”

Wagner also touched on his co-star Paolo Banchero, who has proven to elevate his game in playoff settings. Last season, both Banchero and Wagner finished in the top 10 of playoff scoring averages despite the Magic losing in five games to the Boston Celtics in the first round and both players coming off oblique injuries earlier in the year.

In Wagner’s view, Banchero is entering the postseason with added confidence.

“Yeah, for sure,” Wagner said. “Yeah, I think he thrives in those situations, and I think we'll all feed off that.”

The Magic will need it against the 76ers who, despite not having Joel Embiid on the floor due to his continued recovery from an appendectomy, still have plenty of firepower to give Orlando trouble.

“I think they're playing really physical,” Wagner said. “Obviously, we've got to have a good game plan for Maxey. They’ve got a lot of guys who would like to attack from the perimeter, so just making sure we play good team defense.”

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