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5 Most important stretches of the Orlando Magic's 2024-2025 season

The Orlando Magic have had nearly a week to sit with their schedule and map out the trouble spots and the easy parts (on paper). Which stretches of games will define their season?

By Philip Rossman-Reich

The Orlando Magic face some difficult stretches in their schedule, especially early in the season. That could define their season.
The Orlando Magic face some difficult stretches in their schedule, especially early in the season. That could define their season. / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports
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5. Oct. 30-Nov. 6: The first big road trip

Oct. 30: at Chicago
Nov. 1: at Cleveland (ESPN)
Nov. 3: at Dallas
Nov. 4: at Oklahoma City
Nov. 6: at Indiana

When the schedule comes out, I usually highlight the first road trip as a key moment in the season. How the team performs and comes together on its first road trip is usually a big moment during the season. A rough road trip is usually a bad sign and leaves the team with a deficit to make up.

The Orlando Magic have a road-heavy start to the season. They play 16 of their first 25 games on the road. The Magic are going to have their work cut out for them to start the season.

And the Magic will have some sense of where they are at and how ready they are for this challenge very early in the season. Their first road trip beginning Oct. 30 is going to be a huge challenge. This team will have to come together quickly.

Orlando escaped Chicago with buzzer beating wins (after losing big leads) early in the 2024 season. Even with DeMar DeRozan gone to the Sacramento Kings, the Orlando Magic will find it tough to face the Chicago Bulls on the road.

Then they face a row of playoff contenders with a nationally televised game in their first game at Cleveland since Game 7 on Nov. 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They then face the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder in a tough back-to-back before closing the road trip with a critical matchup with the up-and-coming Indiana Pacers.

This is not an easy road trip by any stretch. There is no easy win. The Bulls are the only team on this trip that did not make the playoffs last year. And Chicago is capable, especially early in the season, of stealing a win.

The Magic will face plenty of playoff opponents in the early stretch of schedules. This is something the Magic have to be better at—they had the worst record among Eastern Conference Playoff teams against opponents with a winning record last year at 19-28.

The Magic also had the worst road record at 18-23 among Eastern Conference Playoff teams. Orlando has to prove it can win these kinds of games. And this early stretch will be a test of just how much this team has grown up.

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