The Orlando Magic have a fun slate of opponents they will face in next season's Emirates NBA Cup.
The Orlando Magic's first taste of playoff-style basketball will come early in the season when they face their Group A opponents for the Emirates NBA Cup.
Between Oct. 30 and Nov. 24, the Magic will take on the Toronto Raptors, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Brooklyn Nets and the Detroit Pistons to decide if they can advance. Last season, Orlando went 4-0 in group play and defeated the Miami Heat in the quarterfinals before falling to the New York Knicks in the semifinals.
In the latest episode of Full Court Magic, I discussed some of these opponents with my colleague Andrew Cherico:
"The thing about the cup is that you gotta win or you're out. You basically have to play perfectly. It's almost like bowl season in college football. Like, you can't mess up in the playoff, or else you're not gonna win a natty, you know, and so I'm with you. I think that the Raptors are interesting. We will see what's going on with this Kawhi Leonard trade and this cap circumvention, you know, controversy that's going on right now.
You know, I think that if the Raptors get him, and I wrote about this yesterday, that whether or not he plays, those implications are big, and that will really kind of define the kind of chances the Magic have because a Kawhi Leonard team with, like, Scotty Barnes and RJ Barrett, a healthy Immanuel Quickley, guys of that nature, like, that's a tough team to beat.
The Bucks, I think that the Magic should roll not only because they're in this, like, franchise-altering position right now after moving off Giannis, but the Magic, I mean, that's basically the Heat. Like, all they gave up for him, you know, like, they're familiar with all those guys.
The Nets, I don't know what's gonna happen there. I do think that's gonna be a fun game, though,if the Wagner brothers are healthy, because after they've been teammates for so long, if Moe can get back to getting some playing time on that Nets roster, him and Franz going at it is gonna be cool, but, you know, we'll see, man. I mean, I don't know what's gonna happen.
We've never seen a Cup dynasty yet. Like, it hasn't been around long enough, but, you know, I believe every year it's been a different team that's won it. Just like, you know, the last eight years, we've had a different NBA champion every time."
Given the parody that has occurred in the Cup, there is a chance it can be the Magic’s year to hoist the trophy.
