Orlando plays five games in nine days, starting with a Cup game in Toronto two nights after losing 129-99 there. Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Jonathan Isaac miss the whole stretch, so the week tests how much the younger players can carry.
Toronto is the game that tells Orlando the most.
Friday's Emirates NBA Cup opener puts the Magic back in the same building two nights after a 129-99 defeat, with one day between games for each side. The Raptors are 3-1 with a 14.6 net rating and a 104.6 pace. The Orlando Sentinel reported that Toronto shot 43% from three to Orlando's 29% on Wednesday, and OrlandoMagic.com blamed the loss on turnovers and poor outside shooting. Desmond Bane told the Sentinel that Orlando did not handle the physical side as well as it could have. Toronto will again be without Kawhi Leonard and Nate Bittle. Anthony Black, cleared after a personal absence, faces the same pressure right away, and how he protects the ball will say more about his growth than his scoring.
The home games come on consecutive nights.
Friday's game ends a three-game road run, and then Orlando hosts Boston on Sunday, Nov. 1 and Washington on Monday, Nov. 2. Playing on back-to-back nights with this roster puts strain on minutes. Jamal Cain is already playing about 10 more minutes a night over the last three games with teammates out, and his scoring has not risen with them. Washington is the game a 1-3 team has to treat as a must-win: Indiana holds 10th at 2-3, half a game ahead, and Cleveland is sixth at 3-2, a game and a half up.
The western trip ends the week with no help coming back.
Orlando visits Phoenix on Thursday, Nov. 5 and Golden State on Saturday, Nov. 7. Every injured Magic player has an estimated return after that. Suggs and Isaac are estimated for Nov. 10, Penda's hamstring and Nelson's ankle for Nov. 18, and Banchero's right ankle for Nov. 22. That leaves Franz Wagner, Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. as the core. Wagner is shooting 15.0% from three over four games and Bane 27.8%, and the trip west will be hard unless those numbers rise.
Da Silva and Richardson are getting the minutes that will define their roles.
Da Silva is averaging 14.5 points on 45.2% three-point shooting in 28.8 minutes, the steadiest outside shooting on the roster right now. Richardson's test is on defense. Orlando Magic Daily observed that Toronto went after him on switches because of his size. A 21-year-old guard who holds up there will keep steady minutes once Suggs returns.
When will Paolo Banchero return for the Magic?
His estimated return date is Nov. 22. He will miss all five games from Oct. 30 through Nov. 7.
Who is out for the Magic against the Raptors on Oct. 30?
Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Isaac, Noah Penda and Izaiyah Nelson are all out. Toronto is without Kawhi Leonard and Nate Bittle.
