Orlando Magic: 3 games to watch in the first month of the season

The NBA schedule release has become a mini-event in August. And this year maybe even more so for the Orlando Magic.

Following up an exciting offseason of summer league performances and pro-am drama, the Magic enter the 2023 season with more hype than they have had in maybe a decade. Whether it is excitement around the young core or just especially the superstar potential of Paolo Banchero, Magic fans have every reason to be counting down the days until the start of the season.

Just about 50 days away from opening night, it is going to come faster than you think.

The Orlando Magic have a lot more excitement than usual for their 2023 season. As they prepare for the start of the year, there are going to be some key games early to watch.

In the just first month of the season, the Magic host the reigning Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics for their home opener, travel out to Dallas for a matchup with Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks and welcome the Stephen Curry show with the Golden State Warriors on Nov. 3.

The first month and early part of the season are going to be a big test for this young team and set their ambitions for the season.

While these games offer plenty of star power, the three games to keep an eye on will be the real barometer for just how good the Magic will be this year.

Oct. 19 – at Detroit Pistons

The first game of the season is always important. This year the Orlando Magic travel up to Detroit to play a Detroit Pistons team that holds similar hype entering the 2023 season. If both teams continue at their current pace, these will be two of the contenders in the East in just a couple of seasons.

The Pistons possess one of the young cores in the league that can compete with the potential here in Orlando.

Cade Cunningham was the number one overall selection in 2021, Jaden Ivey could be Paolo Banchero’s biggest competition for rookie of the year and Saddiq Bey scored his career-high 51 points in Orlando last season.

This will also be a game Franz Wagner has circled on his calendar. Although he was drafted a few picks later, Wagner posted similar rookie numbers to Cunningham, but he received about half of the recognition. This could be his opportunity to kick off his sophomore year in dramatic fashion.

Not to mention, Wagner played college ball at Michigan and will have a healthy contingent of maize mixed with the blue cheering him on.

Above all, most eyes will be on the aforementioned clash with Jaden Ivey, the fifth pick in the draft. These draft storylines are going to factor in heavily on this season’s narrative. Ivey was never a real threat to go number one overall to the Magic, but many have said he could be the most talented player in the draft.

This is Paolo Banchero’s chance to prove that wrong.

October 21 – at Atlanta Hawks

The storylines for this game write themselves.

Paolo Banchero and Dejounte Murray will be on an NBA court for the first time together since their incident and subsequent social media beef this summer. Although it looks like they may have buried the hatchet, the two Seattle natives are a competitive ticking time bomb whenever they step on the court.

Coming off the Detroit game, this is also another early season test against a similar level of competition in the East. The Hawks lost in the conference finals in 2021 but took a step backward last season losing to the Mami Heat in the first round after winning in the Play-In Tournament.

The Hawks are going to come into this season with a real chip on their shoulder. The core of Trae Young, Djounte Murray and John Collins need to make a real step forward this season.

Young and Murray could be one of the East’s most dominant backcourts and will be a real assessment of where Orlando’s guards are at. Even without Murray, the Hawks had the second-best offense in the whole NBA last year.

Pair this with the Magic’s top-10 defense after the All-Star break and something has to give.

November 7 – vs. Houston Rockets

At the end of the last season, the Amway Center really started to rock. Fans here in Orlando have bought into the Magic’s up-and-down playstyle and exciting youth. This should carry over to this year.

The Houston Rockets come to town in early November, bringing on an early season match-up between Paolo Banchero and Jabari Smith, who the Magic were originally rumored to be selecting first overall. These two young forwards, along with Chet Holmgren, had many scouts talking in circles last offseason.

Now it is time to settle it on the court.

Just like the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic, the Houston Rockets are on a similar timeline with their rebuild. Both Houston and Orlando have two high lottery picks anchoring their core and a sprinkle of other draft investments up and down their roster.

The Rockets are young and oozing with potential. But this is exactly the type of team the Magic need to consistently beat this season if they have any hopes of taking it to the next level.

Any dreams of making the play-in tournament need to start early, and beating this Rockets team could instill some early confidence in the Magic.