ORLANDO — The Orlando Magic fell to the Washington Wizards on Monday, 103-94, dropping them to 0-4 at home in the early days of the 2026-27 season.

There were multiple reasons why the Magic could not defeat the Wizards, let’s review three reasons why they fell short:

Overall, the Magic were too reliant once again on a 3-point shot that was not falling.

Heading into the fourth quarter, the Magic trailed Washington, 79-68, and they had hit just 25.8% of their perimeter attempts up to that point. Even when Orlando found some consistency from beyond the arc in the fourth quarter, it was not enough to seal the deal against a Wizards team that was finding multiple ways to score.

Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane did what they could by combining for 44 points while shooting 18-for-35, but the overall body of work was inadequate. By the end of the game, Orlando shot 37-for-80 from the field (46.2%) and hit only 11 of its 39 attempts (28.2%). 

Another issue that plagued the Magic in Monday’s loss was defensive inconsistencies.

At times, Orlando made things tough on Washington, but the defense ultimately allowed the Wizards to have four starters go for 15-plus points, and Anthony Davis led the way with 27 points while shooting 70.6% from the field.

Kyshawn George supplemented Davis’ effort with 20 points of his own on 60% shooting, and while rookie AJ Dybantsa and Trae Young were not as efficient, they combined to contribute 36 points.

Down the stretch, the Magic’s successful scoring efforts were met every step of the way by a Wizards response, which kept the latter in front. Costly turnovers in the waning minutes hurt Orlando more.

Once again, a lot of the Magic’s struggles can be attributed to the absence of key players.

Orlando will continue to miss Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs as they recover from a low-grade high right ankle sprain and a right knee bone bruise, respectively. Additionally, another top contributor, Anthony Black, missed Monday’s game due to injury management, given that it was the second game of a back-to-back.

Injuries have been plaguing the roster in recent seasons, and they have come back to bite the Magic early in the current campaign. The need to get healthy has been emphasized, but the team will have to make do for the time being.

The Magic will begin their four-game West Coast trip on Thursday against the Phoenix Suns.