Orlando Magic on Hiatus: The top 10 games of the 2020 season (so far)

5. Opening Night — vs. Cavaliers (Oct. 23)

Our Coverage: Grades; Orlando Magic see how good they can be in season opener

FOX Sports Florida Re-Air: March 19, 8 p.m.

Opening night is always unpredictable. It is hard to say exactly what a team will look like and what will happen. Results are always a bit hard to gather. And all the positive talk that colors the preseason quickly evaporates or becomes reality with the first game.

It can confirm a lot of preconceived notions or begin to show a lot of the team’s flaws. It is the first of 82 data points that informs the rest of the season.

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Still, it is hard not to overreact to the season opener. In the moment, it is both a preview and an outlier of what will happen. But it all anyone has for a few precious days.

The Orlando Magic’s debut this season had everything for fans. It had confirmation of what would become the team’s biggest struggle — its offense. It had confirmation of what they hoped would be its biggest strength — the team’s elite defense.

But the biggest thing it had was confirmation that yes, Markelle Fultz could play.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not the best opponent on this list. In fact, they are the team with the worst record. A win over the Cavaliers should not be anything special. But because it came in that first game and that opening win, it left an indelible mark on the team.

Fultz announced himself to the world — or at least those who cared to watch on opening night — that he was back and going to make a difference. With one coast-to-coast, thunderous jam, Fultz made a memory for the rest of the season.

That was not his only big moment in the game. He had a lot of interior passes that showed off his playmaking. He scored 12 points off the bench in his first meaningful minutes in quite some time.

The Magic got a lot of the other beats they came to count on too. Nikola Vucevic scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to build off his All-Star season.

It was a strong start that made a big statement for the Magic.