Full Court Magic: Orlando Magic, Miami Heat Rivalry Full Breakdown

The rivalry between the Orlando Magic and the Miami Heat only look to get stronger as both teams improve. Now, who's going to be the best of the two?

On the latest episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, host Don Strouble was joined by Heat Wave host Anthony Aguirre spoke about the rivalry between the Magic and the Heat their season outlook:

On the Heat's offseason star power and the Orlando Magic's strengths: "Throughout our lifetime, Don, we've seen superstars come to Miami, and it's been a minute. I know Jimmy was here for six years, but it's been a minute since we had a legitimate superstar. So, this has got me pumped up for this season... Definitely the size. Obviously, when you look at a front court with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Wendell Carter Jr., there's a lot of length there. The Heat did not have that size last year. They were very reliant on a fast-paced offense where they just run up and down the court, no plays, run what you want to run, and then from there on hope for the best... For the Magic, it has to be the three-point shooting. That has to come around this time of the year if they want to find success. And I believe it starts with Paolo Banchero. He's not the best three-point shooter, but I believe he can become at least an efficient threat. So if he can get that going, it really unlocks the offense. Franz Wagner obviously missed a ton of time last year. That really hurt the Magic, especially come playoff time. Having that size is still going to do them a lot of justice throughout the year. But if they can get that three-point shooting, that could potentially put them over the hump than what most would expect in the Eastern Conference."

On the Miami Heat's key weaknesses and backup center concerns: "In terms of weaknesses, I'm not sure yet what to identify because there are just a lot of good pieces right now. Even without looking at Bam and Giannis, there's a lot of good shooters out there. The bench looks really nice. If there's one concern, it would probably be the backup center job because right now we've seen Erik Spoelstra play Nikola Jovic and Bobby Portis at the same time. Both of them can share that center spot, both are floor spacers, so they can play both power forward and center simultaneously. My concern is with Jovic because he has struggled against those matchups historically. Meanwhile, Bobby's done better at it as a vet. So if there's one concern, it's really just that backup spot that the Heat have historically struggled to find—that consistent backup center to provide stability behind Bam. Statistically, the defense is obviously not sustainable without Bam. So that is probably the main area that I would keep track of."

On the competitive landscape of the Southeast Division: "The competition is a whole lot greater. I would always say that the Southeast Division was the weakest in the NBA because, respectfully, Washington and Charlotte mainly—and the Hawks have just been mediocre for the most part. But I'm big on Washington this year. I think they could actually be in that 6 to 8 range. I think they can be a potential playoff team without the play-in. I love what they're doing with Anthony Davis. Having a big next to him, historically he's done better as a four. That's the reason why the Lakers never really got over the hump again, because they kept playing him at the five and he kept getting hurt. I love the young pieces, I love the addition of Trae Young. The extension, you can say it was an overpay, but he is a great facilitator. He's averaged over 10 assists, he's led the league in assists before. You don't need him to be a scorer; you just need him to be a facilitator for the young guys, getting Anthony Davis involved, DeAndre Ayton involved, and the rest of the pieces will fall itself. And then Charlotte, I really do like the young pieces. I like the fact that they banked on LaMelo Ball's value while it was still relatively high. Atlanta, not too sold on just because they have a lot of good role players, just not a bonafide legit star at the center of it."

On Miami Heat's bench depth and Nikola Jovic: "I would say that they have good depth. If this was last year's team, I would be very worried just because the bench production was not consistent. Jaime had good stretches, not so great stretches; he's not a consistent scorer. The Heat don't really have a consistent scorer right now on that bench, but they have guys who can produce. It's not the scoring punch that you look at like a 2022 Tyler Herro where he was that scoring punch off the bench. I would say the depth is good though—Pelle Larsson, Tim Hardaway Jr., Nikola Jovic if he can finally put it together... He has not stayed healthy. We know the potential. The extension right now kicks in, so there is pressure. We've all seen Jovic go to FIBA, ball out, look amazing next to Nikola Jokic, then he comes back to the NBA and we're kind of back to square one. So I like the Heat's depth, but I just need to see a bit more in real action."

On predicting the Heat vs. Magic regular season series: "If anything, I'm going to give the Heat a 3-to-1 edge. I think the Magic can take one. I'm not going to count them out. This year they kind of are that toss-up team in the East because we know they can be good, but we also know they can be bad as well. It can go either way, so I'm excited to see what they can do. I still believe in the Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner duo. People saying it can work, they've done it before, it just hasn't led to playoff success as far as we know yet. That's what we're waiting on, but I think the Heat can get 3-to-1. I think the Heat are going to be top three in the East."