Orlando has started 0-2 with Paolo Banchero out, and its history shows how rarely a young core gets a clean start. The Knicks game tests whether Wagner, Bane and Carter Jr. can carry the scoring.
Orlando has been here before, and the first Knicks game was a win.
The franchise lost its first regular-season game 111-106 to the Nets on November 4, 1989. Two days later it beat New York 118-110. That team finished 18-64, so a rough start was not the whole story. This group is 0-2 with scoring problems, but it is nowhere near a rebuild.
Past October 25 games show how thin the margin has been.
Orlando played on this date in five recent seasons. It beat Houston 116-86 in 2023 and Brooklyn 116-101 in 2024. It lost 98-110 to Chicago last year and 114-128 to Portland in 2018. The 2021 game at Miami ended 90-107. Home or road, the Magic have rarely won these nights by a small score.
The Shaq-Penny model needed two scorers, and Orlando now has to build around Wagner and Bane.
The 1994-95 Finals team went 57-25 around O'Neal and Hardaway. Orlando's current version is built on size and two-way forwards instead. Without Banchero, Franz Wagner is the first option and Desmond Bane the second. Bane scored 23 against Miami in the preseason. Against Minnesota the Magic managed only 93 points, and Bane's three-point shooting last season was 21.1%.
The next step belongs to the role players, and Suggs most of all.
Jalen Suggs is playing nine more minutes a night over the last three games, but his true shooting is 37.2% over five games. Jamal Cain's minutes are up 10 a night. Carter Jr. scored 20 against Minnesota and Tristan da Silva has had the options on his contract picked up, so both have a case for bigger roles. Anthony Black could return today, and Jonathan Isaac is estimated back on October 28. New York is also 0-2, with Jose Alvarado day-to-day, so this is a rare level game.
When will Paolo Banchero return for the Magic?
Orlando lists his estimated return as November 22 after a right ankle injury. ESPN reported that he is out multiple weeks, and RealGM reported 4-6 weeks.
What is Orlando's record entering the Knicks game?
The Magic are 0-2, 11th in the East. They lost to Atlanta 125-132 and to Minnesota 93-115 at home.
