The Orlando Magic and the rest of the NBA received their schedules for the upcoming 2024 season last week.
That is obviously an exciting time for the team. The path for the 2024 season is laid out in front of them and the Magic now have a good sense of what they will have to do to accomplish their goals.
The organization may not say it, but it is clear what the Magic’s goals are this season. If they were the last team eliminated from postseason contention last year, there is only one place to level up.
That will make every game feel important. Because the race to the postseason is going to be a tight one.
Still, 82 (80 for now, two more games will get added after group play in the In-Season Tournament) games are a lot to digest. Inevitably everyone’s eyes will go to the most important games on the calendar. That could be the national TV games, games against natural rivals or games that just feel big.
The Orlando Magic’s most important matchups are a mixed bag of going up against high-profile players, rebuilding teams that fit the same profile as themselves and even winning streaks against some of the more well-known teams across the league.
It is already pretty clear which moments in the season and which games are going to be important for this team. The games that are going to help decide where the season is going to go.
It is hard to point out just five games that are essential, especially at this point of the offseason. But we can already highlight a few matchups that are going to feel big and could help spin momentum in the Magic’s favor or could put them in a tough spot moving forward in their pursuit for the postseason.
There are many intriguing matchups but below are the top 5 most essential games on Orlando’s schedule this upcoming year.
5 most essential matchups on the Orlando Magic’s schedule
Oct. 25: vs. Houston Rockets
The first game of the year and the Orlando Magic see themselves going up against a team in a similar rebuild to theirs.
The Orlando Magic and Houston Rockets looked very even in head-to-head matchups from last season as each team won on the road.
It also made for exciting matchups as both teams shot well against each other at 45-plus percent from the field in both contests. The rebounding differentials in both games were also within 5 of each other. These games from last season had a lot of evenly-matched action.
The Magic certainly regretted the loss to the Rockets early in the season at Amway Center. And Orlando had to lean on a zone defense to erase a double-digit deficit on the road in Houston.
Just because the Magic are early favorites to win this game and the Rockets were at the bottom of the Western Conference last year does not mean anyone should count this as an easy win.
The Rockets should be better than last year considering they added Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks in free agency. They will see the same natural progression as the Magic with Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun taking another year under their belts. And Jabari Smith Jr. looked like he leveled up in his short Summer League run.
This will be a great season opener for the Orlando Magic as it gauges the tone very early on and it could them to a win against a team in a similar spot to them in the rebuilding process. The Rockets will more than likely come in with the same mentality as well wanting to get the season off to a hot start.
This game is even more important for the Magic considering they pack up and hit the road for a four-game West Coast trip right after this game for their earliest West Coast road trip in franchise history. It will be harder to handle that road trip at 0-1.
This has the makings for a very competitive game right off of the bat in Orlando.
5 most essential matchups on the Orlando Magic’s schedule
Nov. 4: vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Believe it or not, this is the second matchup of the year between the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers as they play about a week before in Crypto.com Arena during that aforementioned early West Coast trip.
This second matchup in the Amway Center is very intriguing as it is another big-name team Orlando will see early on in the season. On top of this, this is the Magic’s first game back from that quick trip out West. So there is not much of a chance to take a breath after they get home.
The Lakers on a Saturday night? Even during college football season that will bring a sold-out Amway Center and it may be dotted with more purple and gold than anyone would like. And the Magic are going to have to work to make up whatever ground they may have lost on the road trip or maintain momentum from their trip.
This is a tough game against a tough opponent.
The Magic currently have a six-game losing streak against the Lakers and have not won against them since beating them before the bubble in Jan. 2020. That was a game where Markelle Fultz recorded a triple-double if you remember.
They have not beaten the Lakers at home in the Amway Center since 2018.
Of course, the big name to recognize in this game is LeBron James. The Magic see him early in the year so they take advantage of any rust the Lakers team may have during the beginning parts of the season.
The Magic saw the Lakers last year after the trade deadline and nearly took them down on the road before Austin Reeves’ free throw shooting took over and the Magic ran out of gas on the back end of their Los Angeles back-to-back.
Orlando proved itself competitive with a very good Los Angeles team that was gearing up for a trip to the Western Conference Finals.
Orlando has an opportunity to take down a title contender early on in the season at home. It is a team that has not beaten in a few years and a team they have not beaten at home in quite a while.
5 most essential matchups on the Orlando Magic’s schedule
Nov. 25: vs. Boston Celtics
Dec. 17 & 19: at Boston Celtics
The first meeting between the two teams will be in Orlando for group play for the inaugural in-season tournament. It is also the last group play game for the Magic as it may come down to them competing for a spot in the actual tournament in Las Vegas.
The fact that game is an afternoon contest on NBATV on Black Friday is only going to add to the intensity of that matchup. The Magic and Celtics have already put together some stellar games. Orlando took three of four against Boston last year. This is a team the Magic feel they can beat.
Part of that is because of what they did last year in Boston.
Just like last season, the Magic have back-to-back games in the TD Garden against the Celtics. It was a set of two games in which they thrived as the capper to their six-game win streak and the turning point of their season.
What went well for Orlando in the back-to-back wins in Boston last year was the team’s defense. The Magic held the Celtics to less than 35 percent from the field and less than 30 percent from three allowing their offense to take advantage. Orlando went 3-1 against Boston overall last year.
With a setup of back-to-back games in Boston that is reminiscent of last season, Orlando looks to keep the momentum up against a title contender from last year by repeating what they did last year in the TD Garden.
The question will be whether Boston rises to the occasion. The Celtics have a tendency to play up and down to their competition at times. That was the point Eddie House was warning NBC Boston viewers when he ridiculed the Magic in those pair of losses in December.
So the question will come down to whether the Celtics treat the Magic seriously. We know the Magic will treat these games as a big moment for them.
5 most essential matchups on the Orlando Magic’s schedule
Jan. 2: at Golden State Warriors
March 27: vs. Golden State Warriors
The Jan. 2 matchup is the middle game in a four-game west coast road trip for Orlando around the time of New Year’s Day. Here, they are featured in a game against the Golden State Warriors who are a big name within the realm of recent NBA history.
Surprisingly enough, Orlando swept Golden State last season, earning the team’s first win at Chase Center, albeit with Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson sitting out.
This continues what is now a three-game win streak on Golden State. The Magic have also beaten the Warriors five times in a row at the Amway Center where they will play this season on March 27.
In last season’s two matchups, the Magic were able to beat the Warriors in a variety of ways.
In the first matchup in Orlando, the team was able to out-rebound Golden State with a differential of 11 as this swayed a tight 130-129 win.
Jalen Suggs was the key factor in that game finishing with 26 points, nine assists and four steals which showed what he can do at his peak. He hit the go-ahead three and had a key steal both with under a minute to go in a tight game.
Inthe second, they were able to shoot lights out against the Warriors going 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land.
Golden State did not have Stephen Curry or Klay Thompson in that game which caused the Warriors to struggle to find consistent shooting across the board.
Still, every win counts. And wins on the road against elite competition are still pretty important.
The Magic can get a strong-looking road win during a west coast trip during New Year’s as they showed they could do so against a good franchise last season.
5 most essential matchups on the Orlando Magic’s schedule
Feb. 8: vs. San Antonio
The Orlando crowd will have to wait a while but Victor Wembanyama will make his first visit to the Amway Center in February. There is a matchup before this in San Antonio on Jan. 31, but the game in Orlando is arguably more intriguing since Orlando dominated San Antonio at Amway Center last season.
The fact that Wembanyama will be in this game makes this game all the more interesting. It will be interesting to see how the Orlando big men guard him in the post and really on the entire defensive end of the floor.
Not to mention, this is the matchup of the last two top overall picks in the draft. Paolo Banchero will certainly have something to say about all the hype and hoopla Wembanyama is receiving — the Spurs have 19 national TV games this year thanks to Wembanyama while the Magic are settling on five.
Wembanyama is one of the most intriguing players the NBA has seen in a while making his debut in Orlando. It will draw a big crowd and it gives the Magic a chance to show what they can do against an incoming, high-profile player.
Much like the Houston Rockets, who the Orlando Magic are playing to open the season, the San Antonio Spurs are an up-and-coming rebuild, just like Orlando. They look evenly matched with both teams splitting the series with two blowout wins a piece. The equal matchups combined with the Wemby factor coming to O-Town make this a very interesting game to watch.