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Can Orlando Magic Endure Upcoming Schedule?
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- Can Orlando Magic Endure Upcoming Schedule?
Can Orlando Magic Endure Upcoming Schedule?
(Don Strouble/Roundtable Sports)
The Orlando Magic's 2026-27 schedule offers a preview of what the upcoming season could look like for this team under first-year head coach Sean Sweeney.
Road trips, homestands, and back-to-back games all fall at points in the season that can dictate how this team performs. As far as back-to-back games are concerned, the Magic will play 14 of them, which translates to 28 games played on consecutive days, per Orlando Magic PR.
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For Orlando, these games will be a test of grit and physical fortitude. Given the tenuous state of the Magic's health in recent seasons and injuries to key players, this might make some fans nervous.
Yet there is no avoiding how the schedule has been constructed. The good news is that Paolo Banchero has made a primary focus of his offseason work becoming more durable.
Additionally, Franz Wagner is not playing in Germany this summer, and after a disastrous 2025-26 campaign, he needs the most rest and recovery time before embarking on another long and arduous 82-game slate.
In a recent episode of the Full Court Magic Podcast, I discussed these topics with my colleague, Andrew Cherico, while emphasizing that this iteration of the team needs to prove itself:
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"I mean, yeah, there are no excuses that can be made. And the players and coaching staff, the whole organization, I imagine, top to bottom would say the same thing. I think that's why it's a good thing that Franz is not playing in Germany this summer.
He really needed a full summer to rehab everything he went through last season. And so, it shows his commitment to being available for this Magic group. And then the other part of it is, the Magic are handicapped by the first apron. I mean, that's just the reality of their situation. This is an expensive roster, and that's part of why this roster needs to work, especially under Sean Sweeney, and they're gonna have several challenges along the way through this 82-game season coming up.
That will really be a litmus test to show whether or not he's the guy and if the key players on this roster are the ones that can lead this group to where they wanna go and this organization to where they wanna go."
On Thursday, Wagner turned 25, so he is just now in the prime of his career. However, consecutive seasons of significant injuries have hampered who he can be for the Magic.
This season, Orlando is going to need Wagner and the rest of its firepower to prove it is not stuck below an impenetrable ceiling.
