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Surprisingly, the Cavaliers have won a whopping 17 games in a row against the Magic. Even before James rejoined the Cavs, the Magic have had a hard time against them, including a statistically improbable collapse. The Hornets are still a pretty talented team despite their recent struggles and will be a tough matchup for the Magic. Hopefully, the Magic can grab a win or two and save face against a strong playoff candidate. The Magic have a relatively young roster that still has room to grow.
That tandem, of course, is the tandem of Shaquille O'Neal and Penny Hardaway. Shaq and Penny came to the Magic in the 1990s, in a time where teams full of established stars like the New York Knicks and Chicago Bulls were at the top of the league. Those teams were very talented of course, but lacked the pizzaz that the Magic brought to the floor at times. The team name Magic tends to conjure up the notion that a team is going to be more interesting or special than the other teams in the NBA. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Brook Lopez should help an up-and-coming Los Angeles team.
Jan. 31: vs. Los Angeles Lakers
Their lone trip to Orlando will be special and come with the buzz of last year’s team. The Hawks will be one of those teams the Magic will be fighting for Playoff positioning. Every one of those games will be important for the team. The emotions of Howard’s return has waned, but now he is a division rival. For the first time though since Howard left, Orlando has a center who can at least match or simulate the rim protection he left behind when he was traded away.
They never had anyone who could matchup well with LeBron James, and he just runs roughshod over the team. Maybe that changes with a rim protector back in the paint and Aaron Gordon sliding to small forward to shadow James . And James always brings a special buzz to the arena every time he arrives in Orlando. Magic fans certainly do not forget James for the 2009 Playoffs. The Orlando Magic are not going to be a team in the limelight this year. This is a team that will have to work largely in anonymity and without much national attention.
Team
They will play once on ESPN (March 3 vs. Miami) and three times on NBA TV (Feb. 7 at Houston; March 17 at Phoenix; and March 29 vs. Oklahoma City). There are also no bad seats within the arena and your experience of taking in a live, professional basketball game will be a great one. As a visitor to Orlando, you can take advantage of an organized trip to watch Magic games at the Amway Arena. Catching a Magic game continues to be a popular event in Orlando and the atmosphere is welcoming and exciting for all of its attendees.
The sting has eroded from the “Dwightmare” about half a decade ago, but Dwight Howard games always mean something. Howard is now with the divisional foe Charlotte Hornets and will be coming back to Orlando twice this season. As the countdown to the NBA season begins, schedule release day is an obvious landmark. With only a few months left until tip-off, fans will now get a sense of what is in store for the 2018 season. Both Miami and Orlando made a handful of quiet moves that should improve both teams.
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The home portion of the regular season tips off Wednesday, October 18th when the in-state rival Miami Heat come calling. Build your custom FanSided Daily email newsletter with news and analysis on Orlando Magic and all your favorite sports teams, TV shows, and more. After the Magic play the Cavaliers in Cleveland in the first week of the season, they do not play again until March and then again in Cleveland in early April.
As good as Nikola Vucevic was on the offensive end, even putting in some big games against Howard, the Magic never had anyone who could impact the game defensively like him. Howard has moved on to his third team in five seasons since leaving Orlando as he will play for the Atlanta Hawks this year. His struggles to find his rhythm and regain his stellar play from his Orlando days in Houston flamed out almost completely as the Rockets nearly missed the Playoffs last year.
From Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons to Aaron Gordon and Jonathan Isaac, this game will feature plenty of highlight plays. If the Magic are anywhere near the playoff picture, a win here would give them legitimacy in the race. Hopefully, the Magic can overachieve and get a sneaky victory in the middle of the season.
He will twice face his former Raptors teammates in Orlando (Dec. 18 and Feb. 3) and he will play in Toronto two other times (Jan. 29 and March 27). The defending NBA champion Cavaliers and superstar forward LeBron James will play in Orlando on March 11, while the Magic will play twice in Cleveland (Oct. 29 and April 4). A Golden State team powered by former MVPs Steph Curry and Kevin Durant will play at the Amway Center on Sunday, Jan. 22 in a 12 p.m. Dec. 6 in Washington and Dec. 7 in Orlando against Boston – will the Magic play a road/home back-to-back set of games.
No matter how the season looks at this point, it will be bittersweet to see the season come to an end. During a lengthy March homestand, the Orlando Magic will have another nationally televised game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Like the Pacers game, there will be plenty of young talent on display.
But this will be the game where the debate gets settled. A good time to take stock of whether the Magic made the right decision. The Cavaliers are the measuring stick for the entire Eastern Conference. They are a show when they roll into town, as any NBA champion would be, and will get everyone’s best shot every time.
That should create an interesting buzz in the arena that afternoon. Minnesota is going to be viewed as the “it” team this year (as will the Utah Jazz who follow Minnesota into town Nov. 11). The Timberwolves will get their first ever Christmas game this year. Both the Jazz and the Wolves are following rebuild plans like the Magic and have seemingly leaped ahead. Last year though, the Magic beat both in Orlando to hold some form of superiority.
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