Inside the Orlando Magic's Tough Schedule

The Orlando Magic notched their first win of the 2026-27 NBA season by beating the defending NBA champion New York Knicks, and it also doubled as the first win for Sean Sweeney as a head coach. 

This was good for the Magic, who entered Madison Square Garden with an 0-2 record and also without Paolo Banchero after he suffered a low-grade right high ankle sprain against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday, a game in which Orlando lost 115-93. 

Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, and Anthony Black led the way for the Magic on Sunday. While this win certainly feels good, it is only just the beginning of the challenges ahead for Orlando. On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I discussed the challenging opponents coming up immediately on the schedule:

"So let's get to these opponents and talk more about them in depth. So after the Knicks on Sunday, the Magic have a couple of 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 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 is or was the catalyst for the reason why the Raptors were able to win an NBA championship in 2019. And the Magic have to go to a loud, hostile environment without their best player, and that's going to be a lot to handle. 

And then the Magic come home to face the Boston Celtics on Nov. 1 to kick off the month, and then that's part of a back-to-back. November 2nd, they got to play the Washington Wizards, and 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 Magic have a lot on their plate here. November is the heaviest road schedule of the season for Orlando. I believe 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 first get in the win column and then maintain winning ways that they've yet to discover here in the regular season."