Moe Wagner to Cavs fans: ‘They piss me off’
The Cavaliers and Magic’s rivalry has become “a little personal.” That extends to how Wagner has been received by Cleveland fans.
Cleveland Cavaliers fans have long memories and aren’t afraid to hold grudges. Just ask Kelly Olynyk, who still gets booed every time he touches the ball in Cleveland. Orlando Magic forward, Moe Wagner, received that treatment on Friday and could be headed for years more of it.
Wagner got the start against the Cavs on Friday due to Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero missing the game. This gave Cavs fans the opportunity to boo him whenever he touched the ball from the opening tip. That wasn’t something he appreciated.
“No, they piss me off,” Wagner said to Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal. “I’m not going to lie. It takes me a lot of energy to stay focused, but I’m willing to invest that. I do think it’s fun to a certain degree. At a certain point, it becomes a little personal, but I’m getting better at locking in on the game and not getting distracted.”
The animosity for Wagner dates back to last season’s first-round playoff series. Jarrett Allen was injured after taking a sharp elbow from Moe’s brother Franz. Moe also seemed to relish playing the role of villain during games in Cleveland and wasn’t afraid to be overly physical when he was on the court. It seems he will be playing that villain role anytime he comes to Cleveland in the foreseeable future.
Neither side is completely ready to call it a rivalry yet, but you can see signs of one being there.
There’s also the subplot of Magic head coach Jamal Mosley being close friends with former Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff. He didn’t seem too eager to give Kenny Atkinson credit for what the Cavs have already done this season.
“The [defensive] foundation was laid,” Mosley said of what Bickerstaff was able to do. “I think that’s a big portion of it. You have the same exact group that comes back. Their fundamentals were incredible. The way they improved every single year under J.B. I think was fantastic, and I think they have that identity already. That’s the identity he laid in.”
The bad blood between the Cavs and Magic likely won’t go away any time soon. Especially if Cavs fans continue to boo Wagner this much. These teams meet two more times this season on Feb. 25 in Orlando and March 16 back in Cleveland.