One thing could derail Orlando Magic's ambitions for the 2026 season

The Orlando Magic have become one of the favorites to win in the Eastern Conference.

By most sportsbooks, they are third in the odds to win the Eastern Conference. Their over/under is more than 50 wins for the first time since Dwight Howard was on the team in 2012.

The move to acquire Desmond Bane, in addition to adding Tyus Jones and securing the team's long-term future with a max contract for Paolo Banchero, made for a busy offseason for the Magic. It is one where the team openly declared its intentions, putting their money where their mouth is.

Orlando is fighting to be a title contender and made moves to improve the team after falling in the first round for the second straight season. The Magic have a core of three players who have averaged 20 points per game or more, along with two potential all-defensive team players.

The Magic still have a lot to prove, though. They have to do the thing first. And while there is a lot of excitement for the upcoming season, there are still weaknesses within the team, uncertainty in how this all comes together and some glaring reasons for concern.

Not to put water on the embers of excitement, the Magic still have a few questions to answer this season, and they have to address things that could derail their hopes for the season.

I put it to an informal vote on social media. And one thing rose clearly to the top as the biggest question the team faces: Their health.

The Magic are still leaning on health

Indeed, health is the biggest thing that could derail the Orlando Magic's season. It is not a minor concern. And many of the other concerns this team faces fold into questions about the team being healthy.

Undoubtedly, when the Magic's starting lineup is healthy, they may have one of the best starting fives in the league. They have reliable scorers in Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner. And Desmond Bane and Jalen Suggs should be able to pick up the slack, too.

But injuries were the story last year. Banchero mised two months, and Franz Wagner missed 20 games with oblique injuries. That put a dent in otherwise sterling track records for their young careers.

In all, Orlando was fifth in the league in wins missed due to injury, according to Basketball Index.

Last year was an odd year when it came to injuries. Banchero and Wagner are historically reliable players.

Before last season, Wagner missed only 15 games in three seasons and Banchero missed only 12 games in two seaons. There is no reason to think they will not play at least 70 games this season, especially considering how bizarre their injuries are.

But the Magic are leaning on a lot of players who have long injury track records and may not hit 70 games or more.

Suggs played in only 35 games last year. That was a career-low, but he has hit 70 games just once in his career, when he played 75 games in the 2024 season.

Bane also has a checkered injury history. Bane has hit 70 games just once in his five-year career. He played in 69 last year, but just 58 and 42 in the two previous seasons. He even had an oblique injury early last season.

Carter played a career-high 68 games last season. He has had a long history of missing games in the middle of the season -- to the point that getting through a season healthy is one of his clear goals.

As everyone saw during the Playoffs, half the battle is getting through the Playoffs healthy.

Injuries will define a lot of the season again. A healthy Magic team can accomplish a lot. One that struggles with injuries will succumb to their weaknesses on the roster.

But that leads to the other concern.

The Magic are a top heavy team

The Orlando Magic's main goal this offseason was to improve the team's offense. After finishing 27th in offensive rating last year -- and never outside the bottom 10 since 2012 -- the team knew that to take another step up in the confernece, they needed to improve their offense.

The additions of Desmond Bane and Tyus Jones should give the Magic more high IQ players who can also spread the floor as efficient 3-point shooters.

But make no mistake about it, this is still a top-heavy offensive team. They are still leaning a lot on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner to soak up a lot of attention. Desmond Bane will be expected to be in the upper teens with Jalen Suggs joining him.

After that? Tyus Jones, Wendell Carter and Moe Wagner are the only other players on the roster who have averaged double figures before in their careers. Wagner is working his way back from a torn ACL and likely will not play until December or January. Anthony Black will be expected to take a major step up in the rotation, too.

The Magic have more scorers and have better shooters. But that does not mean they are a perfect team.

When healthy, Orladno has been one of the best bench-scoring teams in the league. But the team traded one of its better bench players in Cole Anthony and will be without Moe Wagner for some time. It is uncertain if the Magic will maintain their bench dominance -- and whether that will translate to the Playoffs, when it did not the last two seasons.

It makes staying healthy even more important as some of the Magic's scoring depth gets depleted if any of those key players end up missing time. Orlando could lose some of its scoring punch without it.

Expectations are as high as they have been. The Magic are expected to win 50 games and get out of the first round. They have the talent to do so.

But this is still a team with flaws it must overcome. If the injury bug hits, those flaws might become exposed even more.

Orlando still has its work cut out for it.