When the NBA released its NBA Cup schedule earlier this week, it sent a message to the Orlando Magic.
The Magic would get a showcase game in the world's most famous arena against one of the premiere teams in the league. A team many expect to jump into contender status this year after a strong playoff showing and a big offseason.
The Orlando Magic's game against the New York Knicks on Dec. 3 on the final day of NBA Cup group play action in a game that should have stakes beyond future playoff seeding and regular season monotony was almost like the NBA saying, "OK, Orlando. Prove it to us."
The rest of the Orlando Magic's schedule might as well be saying the same thing—really beginning with opening night Oct. 23 in Miami against the hated Miami Heat.
If there is a theme to this season that is already emerging, it is that the Magic have to prove they belong in the upper tier in the Eastern Conference. They have to prove there is another level to their game.
At the very least, the league is curious about what the team will do. Their five nationally televised games (nine if you include NBATV games) suggests that.
Especially considering those games are against other potentially elite teams in the Eastern Conference and one equally up-and-coming team—Nov. 1 in Cleveland for the first rematch against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dec. 3 in that NBA Cup game against the New York Knicks, Dec. 19 in another matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Jan. 17 at the Boston Celtics and Feb. 25 at home against the Cavaliers again.
These are the games the Magic have to prove they can win if they want to change the perceptions about them. These are the games the Magic have to win to take their next steps as a team and a franchise.
Magic fans are probably too focused on these national TV games. They are the ones that care about how the team is seen and perceived.
But Orlando too has to find a way to win the games that the league might want to put on national TV too. The Magic went 19-28 against teams with a winning record last year, the worst mark among all Eastern Conference playoff teams.
The Magic made the playoffs last year and reached a Game 7. But they still have a lot to prove. They always have a lot to prove.
The motto for Orlando throughout the 2023 season was to "level up." They were done being a doormat in the league and winning was going to become an expectation. After a slow 5-20 start, Orlando was a .500 team in 2023. Then in 2024, the Magic leveled up again to reach the playoffs.
This season will require the team level up once more. It is time to stake a claim as the team on the rise and a potential contender moving forward. This is the season for the Magic to prove themselves.
The schedule is set to give them that stage. It is not just getting more appearances on national TV. It is the way games are constructed.
Orlando will start the season with 16 of the team's first 25 games on the road—and that includes a five-game homestand with the NBA Cup home games included. The team will finish the season with 11 of the final 19 on the road after their season-long homestand in late February.
The Orlando Magic close their season on the road against the Indiana Pacers on April 11 and the Atlanta Hawks on April 13. That Game 82 in Atlanta could be vital to where the team ultimately finishes.
But there will be several "prove-it" stretches throughout the season.
The Magic have some tough stretches on the schedule
Take the end of their NBA Cup road trip. After playing the Brooklyn Nets twice in Brooklyn on Nov. 29 and Dec. 1, the Orlando Magic play:
- Dec. 3: at New York
- Dec. 4: at Philadelphia
- Dec. 6: at Philadelphia
- Dec. 8: vs. Phoenix
- (Dec. 10-17 NBA Cup Quarterfinals/Semifinals or Fill-In Games)
- Dec. 19: vs. Oklahoma City
- Dec. 21: vs. Miami
- Dec. 23: vs. Boston
- Dec. 26: vs. Miami
- Dec. 27: vs. New York
That is, at least currently on the schedule, nine straight games against playoff teams, including six games against teams with title aspirations (we can debate the Phoenix Suns another time).
The Magic have the hardest schedule by 2024 opponent win percentage among last year's playoff teams, according to ESPN. A lot of that is because they have three games against the Detroit Pistons. The Magic could get another Pistons game added to that NBA Cup week from Dec. 10-17 if they do not reach the knockout round.
But their other three-opponent matchups are the Cleveland Cavaliers, Milwaukee Bucks, Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls. Outside of the Knicks, the Magic are likely to get two of those teams added (and at least one of those teams) added to their schedule.
Their schedule will get tougher one way or the other. And the Magic will have to face it without blinking.
Or take this stretch in January:
- Jan. 6: at New York
- Jan. 9: vs. Minnesota
- Jan. 10: vs. Milwaukee
- Jan. 12: vs. Philadelphia
- Jan. 15: at Milwaukee
- Jan. 17: at Boston
- Jan. 19: vs. Denver
Those are all championship contenders and the kinds of teams the Magic have to prove they can beat. This is also the schedule winning teams usually see, as elite teams cluster on their schedule for national TV appearances.
These games may not be in the national spotlight, but repeatedly beating elite teams is part of what elite teams are able and have to do. The Magic will learn a lot about how serious they are as contenders in these two stretches and with how they start and finish their road-heavy parts of the season.
Orlando may get some benefit this year from having a rest advantage against some teams. They have four home-home back-to-backs, easing the pain of their 13 back-to-backs, among the lowest amount in the league this season. There are parts of their schedule that have broken their way.
The reality is that Orlando is good enough to win all of these games. The Magic should enter every game this season believing they can win. There is no opponent—even the Boston Celtics—the Orlando Magic should not feel like they can beat.
That is the growth the team has made. And that is the growth the team has to show again this season.
This season will be about the Magic proving themselves all over again. That is the task for this young team. And the schedule will test whether the Magic are ready to step up to that bigger stage.
The NBA has given the Magic some more attention. The league has asked the Magic to prove themselves again. In seven weeks, it will be time for Orlando to step up.