Full Court Magic Details Key Reasons For Orlando Magic's Early Season Struggles

On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, host Don Strouble discussed what has gone into the Orlando Magic's early season struggles: 

"The Magic are in a tough spot right now. They're 0-2, and Paolo Banchero is going to miss several weeks with a right ankle sprain. The news came out yesterday. It's a low-grade right high ankle sprain. ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania dropped the news. The team followed up with it and confirmed it as well.

"This is the injury that Franz Wagner suffered last season against the New York Knicks. That proceeded to ruin the rest of his season, just issues stemming from that ankle the rest of the way. Hopefully that's not the case with Banchero, but he's going to be out for a while, and the adversity is hitting early and it's hitting hard for the Magic.

"I feel bad for this fan base. But the silver lining here is that all of you are accustomed to this, and the team is accustomed to it, and they have proven that they can work around these obstacles sometimes.

"Clearly, that wasn't the case when they lost Franz Wagner in the first round of the playoffs last year, blew a 3-1 lead to the Detroit Pistons, but they have shown that at least in regular-season settings, they can win games even if they're down some key bodies here.

"So what is it going to take? We're going to get to all of that this episode. We're going to talk about the losses so far that they have suffered, the opponents ahead. Is Sean Sweeney ready to deal with this adversity as a coach? We're going to get into all those things. So let's talk about it."

"Banchero was hurt in Friday's loss to the Timberwolves, a 115-93 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He had been feeling discomfort in the first half, and by the second half, he had to briefly exit the game, head to the locker room before trying to return to the game and then subsequently being sidelined for the remainder of the contest.

"Afterward, coach Sean Sweeney said that it was just a sore ankle and that he'd be evaluated by the team. And then by Saturday afternoon, the news was released that Banchero was going to miss time with this injury. Four- to six-week timetable here. So the Magic have to prepare for life without their superstar."

"So what does a timeline without Paolo Banchero look like? Well, we do have some precedent to lean on here. We got some past evidence.

"Last season, Banchero missed 10 games with a hamstring injury in November, and the Orlando Magic, led by Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane, proceeded to go 7-3 in that stretch. Those two were playing high-level basketball, and that was with Jamahl Mosley at the helm. A different coaching skill set, different limitations, different strengths from what Sean Sweeney has to offer.

"Wagner and Bane are going to have to do it again, as will Jalen Suggs. They're going to have to show up because Banchero, in the season opener against the Hawks, made NBA history, becoming the first player in a season opener to score 35 or more points, have 10 or more assists and shoot 80-plus percent from the field.

"So he brought his superstardom and put it on full display, and now that is going to be absent for at least a month, it looks like. That's tough. That's tough for this team because he brings a lot. At the end of the day, he is the face of this franchise, and through the first two games, averaging 24.5 points while shooting 69.6% from the field and 50% from three.

"Ouch. That's tough to lose. That is very tough to lose."

"So what can Desmond Bane and Franz Wagner offer? Well, I'm going to be honest with you guys. If you've been watching these games, you know these first two for Desmond Bane have been brutal.

"Through the first two games, he is averaging 12 points on 26.9% shooting from the field and 21.1% shooting from 3-point range.

"And you could see the frustration on Bane's face. I could see it last night. It was palpable. You could tell that he's not happy with his performance right now, and you could tell that he wants to do more.

"He's a very passionate player and, at his best, an All-Star-caliber player. We saw Bane get off to a slow start last season in his first year with the Magic, and now it seems to be a repeating process here. But they're really going to need the best version of him here sooner rather than later.

"At the time of recording, the Magic are getting set to tip off against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks, in their title-defending season, are also 0-2. So you know that they are going to want to get a win here and defend home court against Orlando.

"It's going to be quite a tall task in front of this team. Just like the other topics that we're going to come up on here, we will also get to the upcoming opponents beyond the Knicks.

"Desmond Bane has to figure it out and figure it out fast now that Paolo Banchero is off the floor. I trust that he will, especially in this Sean Sweeney offense.

"I think that he's just trying to get into a rhythm. Maybe this is just the kind of player that Desmond is, and you'd rather see him start out slow than finish the season slow when you're fighting for a playoff spot. But they're going to need the best that they can get from him."

"In terms of Franz as an offensive player right now, through two games, averaging 31 minutes per contest, he's averaged 20 points while shooting 47.1% from the field, but just absolutely abysmal from three, 21.4% from 3-point range.

"Just has really, really struggled from beyond the arc. He's never been the best 3-point shooter in the world, but the Magic certainly need him to be a little bit better than this. And he's just not been better than this right now.

"So going to have to see some improvements there from Boogie and make sure that he does what he's capable of doing with his co-star Paolo out."

"You look at Jalen Suggs, who has never been the greatest offensive player, but really struggling right now himself through the two games, averaging just 10 points, shooting 40% from the field and the worst of these three names I've mentioned here from the 3-point line, 16.7%.

"That's just not going to cut it. It's just not going to cut it."

"It's interesting because Sweeney in the preseason, he liked what he was seeing in terms of the Magic shooting from the perimeter. He wants the team to get quality shots, and those were the quality shots that were coming.

"Well, these last two games, guys, the Magic, 13 for 40 from the 3-point line in the loss to the Hawks to start the season, and then 8 for 39 the other night against Minnesota, just 20.5%. That is just egregious.

"So they're really cold right now. I'm not sure it's going to get any better because the Magic haven't shown us any proof or precedent of it being better. They've been a poor shooting team and a poor offensive team for years now.

"Sweeney and his tactics were supposed to remedy this, but he can't go out there and make shots for them. He can only scheme it up and try to coach them in practice to be better, but they haven't been better so far.

"They're going to need to be because it really hurt them in that 115-93 loss to the Timberwolves on Friday."

"A game in which the Magic kept Minnesota's stars in check. I mean, Anthony Edwards and LaMelo Ball combined to go, I believe it was 9 for 36 from the field. Yep, confirming here, 9 for 36 from the field, combined for 27 points.

"They really stifled them, especially after the night that Edwards had in Miami, where he dropped 45 points and spoiled Giannis Antetokounmpo's home opener with the Heat.

"The Magic kept him in check, but they did not shoot well enough, and they were demoralized, it seemed, by all the second-chance opportunities the Timberwolves were getting."

"Minnesota grabbed 21 offensive rebounds, guys. That will be deflating, and Sweeney confirmed that it was deflating after the game, even though the Timberwolves went 6 for 17 on second-chance opportunities. I believe they only had the 17 points.

"Just the fact that the Magic could not secure any extra possessions and get back down the floor. They had to keep battling and grinding on the defensive end just to try to keep Minnesota from scoring.

"I believe it really wore them down both physically and mentally. So that's something that the Magic are going to have to avoid moving forward, especially against teams like the Knicks. They're going to be playing the Raptors here soon and so on and so forth here in the early days of the 2026-27 NBA season.

"So things are going to be difficult."

"So let's get to these opponents and talk more about them in depth.

"After the Knicks on Sunday, the Magic have a couple days off before they will play the Toronto Raptors in Toronto on Wednesday, which is a preview game for Friday, which kicks off Emirates NBA Cup play for these two teams, which is a game that's also in Toronto.

"The Magic are going to have their hands full here. I mean, the Raptors, they got Kawhi Leonard back. Scottie Barnes is taking steps, and it's not going to be easy. None of this is going to be easy.

"The Raptors are a well-coached team, a young and hungry team now with a veteran superstar player that, when healthy, is still dominant and was the catalyst for the reason why the Raptors were able to win an NBA championship in 2019.

"The Magic have to go to a loud, hostile environment without their best player, and that's going to be a lot to handle."

"Then the Magic come home to face the Boston Celtics on November 1 to kick off the month. And then that's part of a back-to-back. November 2, they got to play the Washington Wizards.

"The Wizards are doing everything they can to be a good team this year, so they are not going to be an easy out, especially early in the season when none of these teams that have been bad know that they're bad yet.

"And that's not to say the Wizards will be bad. But usually early on, the teams that go on to struggle don't quite have that impression yet, especially if they get off to a start that gives them some momentum.

"So the Magic have a lot on their plate here."

"November is the heaviest road schedule of the season for Orlando. I believe it's 13 of their next 18 games are on the road.

"So this is going to be a battle of attrition. It's going to be a battle of mental and physical stamina as they try to firstly get in the win column and then maintain winning ways that they've yet to discover here in the regular season."

"I think more than anything, we're going to find out a lot about Sean Sweeney here.

"First of all, what are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? And now that he has been hit with adversity early, how can he galvanize this group and keep them on the right track and get them to win some basketball games here?

"He is a very stoic personality, but also has a good sense of humor, and those intangibles matter in a locker room. You got to be able to take things seriously and keep everything in check, but also lighten the air a little bit and lighten up the room, especially when a team is going through some stuff like the Magic are.

"So I believe Sweeney has all the capabilities, but now he's going to get put to the test."

"I wonder if a coaching change that the Magic experienced can really remedy the core flaws of this team, the core flaws of the roster.

"Can Sweeney overcome some of the issues that this team has? I mean, the poor offense, the lack of a true point guard, the thin depth on the bench.

"The good news is Anthony Black was made available for the game against the Knicks. That'll hopefully take some pressure off not having Paolo.

"But nevertheless, the Magic are far from perfect here, and they are far from one of the deepest teams in the league. You've got a lot of issues plaguing this group, especially right now.

"I'm curious if Sweeney can overcome those challenges that he is facing here early."

"There's a lot to figure out, and we're going to see exactly what this team is made of here.

"The good news is it's an 82-game season. There's no reason to panic. But the tests are happening right now, and the Magic have to do something right now to ensure that they can overcome these obstacles."