The Orlando Magic kicked off their West Coast road trip on the wrong foot with a 117-104 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. 

The loss marked the Magic's third in a row, as they fell to 2-6 on the season, and more of the same issues that have been plaguing them returned once again on Thursday. Let's review them.

On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I reviewed how turnovers were hurting Orlando in its losses. 

On Thursday, the Magic produced their most egregious display of carelessness yet, when they committed 25 turnovers that the Suns turned into 36 points. 

By halftime, Orlando had already turned the ball over 12 times, which turned into 17 points for Phoenix, and it contributed to a 12-point lead for the Suns. Things got even worse in the second half, and with 09:23 remaining in the fourth quarter, Phoenix had increased its lead to 30 points. 

The Magic were simply reckless with their possessions, as their turnover total nearly matched their assist total (28).

For whatever reason, Orlando continues to rely on a 3-point shot that is not falling nearly enough. 

This version of the Magic’s roster, which has largely remained the same for multiple years, has never been at converting from the perimeter. Yet in the early days of the 2026-27 NBA season, they seem to be forcing it to become a part of their identity, and it is just not working. 

Orlando attempted 38 shots from beyond the arc against the Suns and only made 13 of them, which was equivalent to 34.2%. That percentage is slightly better than it was in the loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday, but it made no difference in the bigger picture. 

The Magic are shooting at a high volume, and it is not working. The one thing Orlando had going for it heading into Thursday's game was that it was a top team in the NBA so far in 3-point percentage on the road, but even that has seemed to fizzle out. 

As it stands, this offense is going to need to find different ways to score.

Given that the Magic trailed by 30 points in the fourth quarter, it was going to take a Herculean effort to overcome such a deficit with the little amount of time that they had. 

Free throws would not have mattered as much in the outcome, but it is worth pointing out that Orlando was very disappointing from the line. The Magic had 24 attempts at the charity stripe and only converted 13 of them (54.2%). 

Had the game been closer, this would have made a massive difference, and it would not have been the first time this season missed free throws ultimately ended up hurting the outcome for the Magic in the end. The most egregious performers from the line were Franz Wagner and Goga Bitadze, who combined to go just 1-for-8.

All told, this was an ugly performance by Orlando in a winnable game against a Suns team that entered the contest with a 1-5 record.