The entire 36 hours between the end of Game 6 and Game 7 of the Orlando Magic's playoff series against the Detroit Pistons seemed to be in a daze.
The team arrived in Detroit with the pall of what happened in the previous game. As they went through warmups, the air felt heavy. The inevitable seemed upon them.
The Magic put up a fight. But it still felt impossible to recover from the embarrassment of their defeat in Game 6.
A series collapse deserves a game where everything collapsed. That was the second half of Game 6, where the Magic missed 23 straight field goals and scored only 19 points in the second half after building as much as a 24-point lead.
How does anyone move on from that?
Whether they want it to or not, that is one of the central questions the Magic will have to answer this season.
The first time they build a 20-point lead, that doubt will linger. When they go through a scoring drought, that doubt will linger. When they face the Pistons again, that doubt will linger.
The only way to get over it is to go through it again and overcome it. The only way to put that doubt to rest is to defeat it.
Orlando knew already it would get a chance to put that doubt to rest early in the season when it was put in the same NBA Cup group as Detroit. Now the team knows when perhaps the most important game of the first quarter of the season will take place.
The Magic will conclude NBA Cup group play on Tuesday, Nov. 24, at home against the Pistons. It will likely be the first time the Magic play and host the Pistons since that dreadful May game where the Magic lost the chance to close the series out.
NBA CUP SCHEDULE! pic.twitter.com/o27OdeY5DG
— Orlando Magic Daily (@OMagicDaily) August 12, 2026
And that is the beauty of the NBA.
The Magic know they will see the Pistons again in the regular season. And while it is just a regular-season game, that first meeting especially will have cathartic potential. Orlando needs that moment to prove that Game 6 was a blip.
They need a win to put it fully behind them.
The Magic will have their chance to show early in the season just how far they have come. And just what they can accomplish this season.
The Biggest Game of the Early Season
Knowing that the Orlando Magic would face the Detroit Pistons early in the season immediately made the NBA Cup that much more meaningful for Orlando.
This is simply a chance to show the league that they have moved on and they can overcome the team that defeated them in the Playoffs.
Every game is a measuring stick to some degree. But the ones against elite opponents and the ones against the teams that ended your season the year before feel that much bigger. These are the teams you are chasing and must overcome, after all.
The Magic and Pistons have been quiet rivals for some time, growing at around the same time and at the same pace. It always felt these two teams would circle each other and meet in the Playoffs.
Orlando looked ahead after its playoff breakthrough in 2024. Now the Pistons look to be ahead after earning the top seed in the East.
Despite being a 1-vs.-8 Playoff matchup, the playoff series showed how close the two teams remain. They are still two of the better young teams in the Eastern Conference trying to plant their flag on the future.
The Magic are still trying to prove they belong in the upper class of the Eastern Conference. That is a task that is only getting harder.
Beating the Pistons would be cathartic just to put the past behind them and prove they are still on that level with them. It would be a good emotional jolt early in the season, especially with a new coach.
It would be a good early statement for this team in a big spot with the ability to advance in the tournament likely on the line. That is what last year's win over Detroit in the NBA Cup provided.
That is what the Magic hope to get out of this game. It is a clear measuring stick for this team.
NBA Cup spice to the matchup
The first quarter of the season is not especially exciting. Eighty-two games is a long time. It is easy to get lost in the numbers.
While the result of every game is vital, the pressure does not really ramp up until after the All-Star break.
That is one of the reasons the NBA created the NBA Cup. The league was trying to create some pressure and intrigue early in the season -- and keep eyeballs on the league even when football was still on.
Entering its fourth year, the Cup has had mixed success in this regard. The whole NBA world is not bought in.
But it is still a good early check on where teams are situated and how organized they are. It gave a nice preview for the Playoffs last year, with three of the four conference finalists reaching the semifinals in Las Vegas and the New York Knicks defeating the San Antonio Spurs in the final.
The Orlando Magic have performed well in all three previous versions, going 10-2 in group play. The Magic are not always a team that gets off quickly, but they found value in this tournament.
It does create some artificial stakes for game sagainst fellow title contenders when they pop up. It sees who has their ducks in a row.
The Orlando Magic will open Cup play with another tough opponent in the Toronto Raptors on Oct. 30. They host the Milwaukee Bucks on Nov. 13 and travel to face the Brooklyn Nets on Nov. 20.
The finale against the Pistons on Nov. 24 will have the most meaning because of the baggage from last season. Adding NBA Cup stakes -- it will be the Magic's final Cup game but not the final game in the group, with more key games coming that Friday -- only adds to the intensity.
It should make for a good atmosphere at the Kia Center before Thanksgiving and early in the season.
The Magic's game against the Pistons will surely be a statement day for this team early in the season.
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