2. The Indiana Pacers
The Indiana Pacers were one of the more surprising teams to make a deep playoff run last season. They were a good team, but Pascal Siakam only came to Indiana in January, and Tyrese Haliburton missed quite some time with an injury.
Indiana obviously had talent, but there were concerns defensively, and it seemed that the team might need some time to put things together with the addition of Siakam. Despite all that, the Pacers made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, beating the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks on the way.
The Pacers are one of the up-and-coming teams in the East, much like the Magic. They should be competing for playoff spots and maybe even in the playoffs for years to come. Both teams have budding young stars in Paolo Banchero and Tyrese Haliburton, hoping to rise through the NBA ranks in the coming years.
All of this could make the Pacers and the Magic rivals for quite some time. Thus, this matchup would make for an interesting game to open the season.
Besides, it would be a fascinating clash of styles. The Pacers are an offensive-minded team, putting up one of the best offensive ratings in the league last season. Defensively, they were not nearly as good. Meanwhile, the Magic are the exact opposite. Orlando looks very strong defensively, especially after adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, but the offense is still something to worry about.