4 Orlando Magic games the NBA should flex onto national TV

The Orlando Magic have not had much reason to be in the spotlight for the last decade.

They have had one All-Star player and just two postseason appearances since Dwight Howard's departure in August 2012. It has been a long fallow period. There has been really no reason to pay attention to the Magic from a national perspective.

Nobody is criticizing the NBA and its TV partners for being a bit hesitant to put the Magic on TV then. There just is no proven track record of success or a star to attach attention to.

That is changing though.

The Orlando Magic will get its lone scheduled national TV appearance one week from Tuesday when they host the Oklahoma City Thunder -- the same night they will retire Shaquille O'Neal's No. 32 (he will be broadcasting the game).

But that is it for this team. And it is especially frustrating considering the Magic have one of the more promising young players in the league and a probable All-Star this year when the reserves are announced Thursday.

Paolo Banchero still ended up finishing fifth in All-Star voting, ending fourth in the player vote and sixth in the fan vote. That suggests that both fans and Banchero's peers are paying attention to his play and what the Magic are doing.

Whether Orlando's mid-season swoon that has dropped them closer to .500 and to seventh in the Eastern Conference affects Banchero's All-Star push will be determined this week. That drop may affect the Magic's attractiveness to get flexed into national TV games.

But the Magic should probably be getting the league executives' eye as the season ends. There are plenty of intriguging games left on the schedule that should generate some interest.

Orlando deserves another national TV game, even if it needs a good opponent to prop it up. The league should be looking for ways to feature one of the young, up-and-coming teams before they get a spotlight in the Playoffs (where national TV appearances are actually earned for the next season).

It still feels pretty appalling that the Magic had the No. 1 pick and the Rookie of the Year and have had to wait until nearly the All-Star Break to get on national TV (recognizing they had their lone appearance pulled early last year).

Orlando's last nationally televised game outside of the bubble was a January 2020 matchup in Boston. The team has not had a home nationally televised game since the Miami Heat's 27-game win streak in 2013. The Magic have existed outside of the national narrative.

Orlando is starting to move into that conversation though. It is not just having Banchero as a potential All-Star. It is the Magic being in the playoff conversation.

As the season gets past the All-Star Break, the national TV partners are going to have to consider putting the Magic on national TV at least a few more times. If anything, the Magic should be in competitive and important games as the season winds down with how tight the race is for the Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament spots.

With the second half of the season ahead for the Magic, here are a few games the league should look to move onto national TV, updating our list from the beginning of the season.

Second-Half Orlando Magic games the NBA should put on national TV

Feb. 6: at Miami Heat

The Orlando Magic's playoff chase is going to come down to winning several key games against teams they are competing with in the standings. And there may be no game bigger on the Magic's schedule than the one that closes out the team's five-game road trip next Tuesday against the Miami Heat at Kaseya Center.

Orlando lost in Miami 99-96 back on Jan. 12. The teams have played some competitive games so far this season. The Magic got a resounding answer with a runaway win at Kia Center about a week later.

But the reality is that this finale in the Sunshine State rivalry could be huge for the tiebreaker to host the 7/8 game in the Play-In Tournament. The teams are still neck and neck for that spot, and it does not seem either team is going to gain much separation.

For the Magic, this game is even more important. Orlando needs it to tie the season series and at least open the potential to force things to a third tiebreaker should it come to that -- that would be the division record with the Heat sitting at 9-2 in the division and the Magic at 6-4, so there is still ground to make up to pass the Heat in a tiebreaker scenario.

Granted, both the Magic and the Heat have struggled in the last few weeks to find themselves in this position. Still, there is definitely intensity to these matchups that would appeal to a national audience. Especially since the Heat are a more known commodity -- not to mention there is at least the potential storyline of Paolo Banchero making the All-Star team and Bam Adebayo missing it or vice versa or Jimmy Butler missing the All-Star Game entirely.

The early TNT game next Tuesday is Kyrie Irving's potential return to Brooklyn as the Dallas Mavericks face the Brooklyn Nets. But Irving has missed several games lately with a wrist injury. And the Nets have almost played themselves out of the Play-In chase.

From a record and playoff importance standpoint, the Magic's game against the Heat next Tuesday is far more important. And bigger than any game in that early window.

Second-Half Orlando Magic games the NBA should put on national TV

Feb. 14 vs. New York Knicks
March 8 at New York Knicks

The Orlando Magic will host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 13 for their lone scheduled nationally televised game on TNT.

That game is big because it is not just the big nationally televised game on the schedule but also the raising of Shaquille O'Neal's No. 32 to the rafters of Kia Center.

The game the following night at Kia Center could be just as big though. The Orlando Magic have two games remaining against the New York Knicks and two chances to pick up major ground they have lost in the last month in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.

The Magic trail the Knicks by six games for fourth in the Eastern Conference. That is a long way off. But these look like two playoff teams who have played entertaining and spicy games so far this season.

Regardless of whether the league wants to feature these games, these are big ones for the Magic if they want to make up ground and potentially sneak into the 4/5 matchup in the Eastern Conference.

They only need one of those games to win the season series. Orlando has proven to be a difficult matchup for New York -- and New York is likely without Julius Randle for the Valentine's Day matchup in Orlando. These will be good games regardless.

And they are games that could easily be featured on national TV.

The early game on Feb. 14 is between the Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers. After the trade deadline, it is not clear whether the Bulls will still have Zach LaVine and whether that team will still be in the playoff race. The Magic are working hard to fend them off right now, but they still have a big hill to climb.

The early game on March 8 features the Atlanta Hawks and the Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are hanging closer to the Western Conference than most thought. But the Hawks and Grizzlies are both teams that are largely outside of the playoff picture at the moment.

If ESPN wanted a different game for that early window, Orlando Magic and New York Knicks from Madison Square Garden is a good replacement (either that or the Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans).

Second-Half Orlando Magic games the NBA should put on national TV

March 10: vs. Indiana Pacers

The Orlando Magic and Indiana Pacers have fallen off some from their early season runs. But both teams look to be among the young teams eager to break through into the top group in the Eastern Conference. They both have extremely bright futures in front of them.

Somehow both the Pacers and Magic got the short shrift on national TV appearances.

The Pacers could not even get a few more appearances added after their exciting run to the NBA In-Season Tournament Final. Those knockout round games represented Tyrese Haliburton's first appearances on TNT.

The Pacers have only one national TV appearance on their schedule -- the Jan. 30 game against the Boston Celtics, in Boston no less.

Personally, the NBA completely dropped the ball on this front. They should have used the In-Season Tournament as a chance to build a new star in Tyrese Haliburton.

And, sure, the Pacers went through a bit of a swoon but have bounced back with Haliburton getting set to return from injury and the acquisition of Pascal Siakam.

The Pacers have bounced back to lay claim to sixth in the Eastern Conference. And with both the Miami Heat and Orlando Magic fading, this appears to be a playoff team.

And with their offense, the Pacers should be one of the young teams the league should be looking to build and grow.

Of course, the only team that has consistently slowed the Pacers down are the Magic. The Pacers scored only 116 and 110 points in the two meetings -- both Magic wins. Orlando's defense was a problem for Indiana.

The NBA should be better at featuring up-and-coming teams and making future stars. Tyrese Haliburton is still going to start in the All-Star Game and Paolo Banchero should be getting the nod as a reserve. These are two players who figure to be part of the league's future.

So why not feature them one more time?

The Magic and Pacers have one more game remaining at Kia Center in March. On Selection Sunday for the NCAA Tournament, no less, when the league may not be getting the whole attention of the basketball world.

Currently, the NBA has the Brooklyn Nets taking on the Cleveland Cavaliers as the lone game on ESPN that evening. The league's bet on the Nets being a playoff contender turned out to be a bad one. And if they continue to struggle -- they are at 19-27 and tied for 10th in the Eastern Conference playoff chase -- the Nets should see some of their games pulled.

Then again, they are still in the postseason race and Ben Simmons' return delivers some promise for revival.

Still, the league should be looking to feature and grow some of its new young stars. And Magic-Pacers looks a lot like that future.

Second-Half Orlando Magic games the NBA should put on national TV

April 14: vs. Milwaukee Bucks

Nobody really knows what will happen on the final day of the regular season. It is always a bit of a guessing game to try to figure out which teams will be motivated and which games will matter for the final standings.

One thing does seem certain, though: The Orlando Magic will need a win on the final day of the season to set themselves up for the postseason -- whether that is to host the 7/8 game, stay in the 7/8 game, or possibly climb to No. 6.

This should be the ultimate lesson for the Magic: Every game for the rest of the season is going to matter for the Magic.

The opponent only makes this game juicier and more attractive should the league put games on national TV for the final day of the season (currently no games are slated for national TV on the season's last day).

The Milwaukee Bucks' star power -- and the potential that this is a playoff series preview with Milwaukee firmly entrenched into the second seed -- should be something of an attractor for national eyes. Although, who knows if the Bucks will even play Giannis Antetokounmpo or Damian Lillard at this point with the second seed likely already wrapped up.

The close to the season -- at the Houston Rockets, at the Milwaukee Bucks, at the Philadelphia 76ers and vs. Milwaukee -- is extremely daunting for the Orlando Magic. Orlando is going to have to do its work early to put itself in a position in the standings. But the Magic are going to have to scratch out some wins.

This one may be a bit easier with Orlando likely having far more motivation to play its top players ahead of the Play-In Tournament.

The other games of importance across the Eastern Conference's 1 p.m. start time would be the Atlanta Hawks visiting the Indiana Pacers; the Toronto Raptors facing the Miami Heat; and the Chicago Bulls visiting the New York Knicks. All of those games would be solid options for the closing day of the season.

Magic-Bucks might have the biggest star power potential -- with likely three All-Stars playing in that game. Hawks-Pacers or Bulls-Knicks might get the nod for an ESPN game. Or the league could just do whip-around coverage for the final day of the season.

Either way, this will be an important day and game for the Magic as they close this season.