The Orlando Magic season has officially arrived, as they will be taking the floor Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. EST inside Kia Center against the Atlanta Hawks.
A new season means new beginnings, especially for first-year head coach Sean Sweeney. Everyone starts fresh, which the Magic need after a distasteful exit in last year's postseason to the top-seeded Detroit Pistons. We are 171 days from their ugly Game 7 loss, fueling more fire for this being a make-or-break season for Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
How do we project they fare in a competitive Eastern Conference?
Jeremy Brener: 50-32, 4th seed
Yep, I said it: the Orlando Magic will win 50 games this season. It's a bold number, but I do believe there is potential for the team to lock it in. That said, a few things need to happen for this milestone to be reached.
Most importantly, the Magic have to stay healthy. It's an absolute must in an Eastern Conference gauntlet that appears to have 10 to 12 teams thinking they can make the top six. The Magic won only 45 games last season, but if Franz Wagner can play more than 60 games and the rest of the team can stay healthy, a 5-win improvement isn't out of the question.
The incorporation of Sweeney's new system, which appears to have a more dynamic offense, should eliminate some of the concerns that stemmed, especially towards the end of last season.
Austin Dobbins: 43-39, 7th seed
In the Magic's first season with head coach Sean Sweeney, I don't expect direct improvement in the win/loss column. With the improvements made in the Eastern Conference, Orlando is kind of the forgotten team, yet they are plenty talented to compete with any of the East's best.
I expect the Magic to get off to a slow start while they find their footing and they will ultimately find themselves in the NBA's play-in tournament. If Paolo Banchero can develop into the MVP I believe he can be, then the Magic can easily surpass this prediction, but for now I will remain level-headed.
Matt Hanifan: 46-36, 9th seed
I feel like I flipped back and forth on this for not just weeks, but months.
I had to take an aspirin to get me through my Eastern Conference predictions, which will almost certainly be wrong, like they were last year (I had the Tyrese Haliburton-less Pacers finishing in the top-8 ... oops!!!). As I put my brain through trauma, while I have the Magic finishing with one more win from a year ago, I have them securing a third-straight play-in appearance.
That's not what anyone wants to hear, I know; I have the top-6 finishing with at least 48 wins, which is bold under this new lottery structure, with none of them exceeding 52. I think the bottom of the West is worse than some think, and there will still be wins available in the bottom of the East.
To be clear, the Magic are well within the top-6 conversation too. There is a world where they catch the East by surprise and finish as a top-4/5 seed; there's also a world where similar results ensue and the bottom falls out.
The truth likely rests somewhere in the middle, although I do think first-year head coach Sean Sweeney will get more out of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner together offensively. The East will beat each other up; the Magic will beat other teams up, and vice versa. However, I don't believe it means they make it out of the play-in during the regular season.
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