The one Eastern Conference team the Magic need to be most wary of in 2024-25

Everyone knows which teams are projected to reign the Eastern Conference in the 2024-25 season. The Boston Celtics are still the team to beat. The New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers made significant additions in the offseason. The Milwaukee Bucks have plenty of star power between Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard. 

Everyone knows to watch out for those teams, especially the Orlando Magic who are trying to join the party and establish themselves as one of the top teams in the East. There are other teams the Magic need to be wary of, though, and one in particular. 

The Magic should be wary of the Miami Heat

It’s become one of the biggest cliches in the NBA by now: You can never count out the Miami Heat. Even if the Heat don’t put together an impressive regular season, they somehow manage to sneak their way into the playoffs. Just recently, the Heat finished the regular season in eighth place and still made it to the NBA Finals. It was one of the most improbable finals runs in recent memory. 

It may be true, but fans outside Miami have still grown tired of hearing about Heat Culture—Magic fans more so than anyone else maybe, as they share a state with the Heat. The Heat have been the more successful NBA franchise in Florida so far, winning three titles already. Orlando is looking to establish itself as the better current team but, at the same time, the Heat might just be the team the Magic need to look out for most in the 2024-25 season. 

The Heat have a track record of not living up to expectations in the regular season and then stepping up their game when it matters the most. Nevertheless, they have had the Magic’s number lately, winning seven of the last ten regular-season matchups between the two teams. 

That is one reason the Magic need to be wary of the Heat. The West is still the tougher conference but the East is incredibly strong at the top and the margin for error is slim. Orlando learned last season how important homecourt advantage can be in the playoffs and they cannot afford to lose any unnecessary games. The Heat could hand them some regrettable losses. 

The Heat finished in eighth place again last season but Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Terry Rozier, and Tyler Herro only played a handful of games together last season. The roster was plagued by injuries. If the Heat can stay healthy in the 2024-25 season, they should be a much better team, especially considering that Adebayo is coming off a successful showing at the Olympics and Butler is in the last year of his contract. 

The Magic will face the Heat four times next season, including the season opener and two games during a tough stretch in December. While those games are incredibly important, they are not all that matters. Magic fans should also keep an eye on the Heat in the standings. 

There are six playoff spots teams can secure outright and two coming out of the Play-In Tournament. The Celtics, Knicks, 76ers, Bucks, Magic, Cavaliers, Pacers, and Heat are all eying playoff spots, meaning that two of them will have to fight through the Play-In Tournament. Orlando does not want to be overtaken in the standings by a team like the Heat and fall below the six-seed.