The Magic will open their 2017-18 regular season on Oct. 18 in Orlando against the Miami Heat
The Orlando Magic will open their regular-season schedule with a home game on Oct. 18 against the Miami Heat .
Here’s a look at the good, the bad and the ugly of the Magic’s 2017-18 schedule.
• The Magic will play 15 pairs of back-to-back games. It’s tied for the Magic’s fewest back-to-backs since the team played 13 during the 2012-13 season.
• Orlando will have a seven-game homestand, beginning on March 14 and running through March 30. That’s the team’s longest homestand since it played seven consecutive home games during the 2010-11 season.
• Orlando currently is not scheduled to play any nationally televised games on ESPN or TNT. At the moment, three Magic games are scheduled to be shown on NBA TV.
• Most NBA teams dislike playing the second night of a back-to-back in Denver because of two reasons: the distance from the airport to downtown Denver and the altitude in Denver. Well, the Magic will play the Suns in Phoenix on Nov. 10 and then will face the Nuggets on Nov. 11.
• The Magic almost certainly will have to celebrate Thanksgiving away from their families. The team will play a game in Minneapolis on the Wednesday before the holiday and then will play a game in Boston on the day after the holiday. It wouldn’ t make logistical sense for the Magic to return to Orlando between the games against the Timberwolves and Celtics.
• Orlando’s seven-game homestand carries a potential negative. Perhaps it would have been beneficial to the team if the league had scheduled the homestand earlier in the season. In recent seasons, the Magic already were well out of playoff contention by mid-March. If that scenario occurs again, then the team won’ t derive any benefit from the seven consecutive home games.
• The Magic will play two road games against the Brooklyn Nets (on Oct. 20 and Jan. 1) and two road games against the New York Knicks (on Dec. 3 and April 3) . However, the league’s schedule-makers didn’ t group any of those road games together. So the Magic will have to travel to New York on four separate occasions.
The Magic will have an opportunity to begin their season well. After they open against the Heat at home, they’ ll face the Nets in Brooklyn, play the Cavaliers in Cleveland and then host the Nets in Orlando. To be sure, the game against LeBron James’ Cavs will be difficult. But remember that the Magic posted a 3-1 record last season against the Heat and a 2-1 record last season against the Nets.
The first half of March could be a backbreaker. The Magic will play home games on March 2 against the Pistons and on March 3 against the Grizzlies. On March 4, the Magic will leave for their longest road trip of the season, a five-game stretch in which they’ ll face the Jazz, Lakers, Kings, Clippers and Spurs. The road game against the Spurs will be on March 13, and then the Magic will host the Bucks on March 14 on the second night of a back-to-back. That’s a rough way to begin a homestand.
• The Magic will take their first West Coast trip Nov. 10-15, with games against Phoenix, Denver, Golden State and Portland.
• Single-game tickets will go on sale on Aug. 31 at 10 a.m. For more information, visit OrlandoMagic.com or call 407-89-MAGIC.
Wed. 18 MIAMI 7 p.m.
Fri. 20 @ Brooklyn 7: 30 p.m.
Sat. 21 @ Cleveland 8 p.m.
Tue. 24 BROOKLYN 7 p.m.
Fri. 27 SAN ANTONIO 7 p.m.
Sun. 29 @ Charlotte 6 p.m.
Mon. 30 @ New Orleans 8 p.m.
Wed. 1 @ Memphis 8 p.m.
Fri. 3 CHICAGO 7 p.m.
Sun. 5 BOSTON 6 p.m.
Wed. 8 NEW YORK 7 p.m.
Fri. 10 @ Phoenix 10 p.m.
Sat. 11 @ Denver 9 p.m.
Mon. 13 @ Golden State 10: 30 p.m.
Wed. 15 @ Portland 10 p.m.
Sat. 18 UTAH 7 p.m.
Mon. 20 INDIANA 7 p.m. (NBA TV)
Wed. 22 @ Minnesota 8 p.m.
Fri. 24 @ Boston 7: 30 p.m.
Sat. 25 @ Philadelphia 7 p.m.
Mon. 27 @ Indiana 7 p.m.
Wed. 29 OKLAHOMA CITY 7 p.m.
Fri. 1 GOLDEN STATE 7 p.m.
Sun. 3 @ New York 3: 30 p.m.
Mon. 4 @ Charlotte 7 p.m.
Wed. 6 ATLANTA 7 p.m.
Fri. 8 DENVER 7 p.m.
Sat. 9 @ Atlanta 7: 30 p.m.
Wed. 13 L.A. CLIPPERS 7 p.m.
Fri. 15 PORTLAND 7 p.m.
Sun. 17 @ Detroit 4 p.m.
Wed. 20 @ Chicago 8 p.m.
Fri. 22 NEW ORLEANS 7 p.m.
Sat. 23 @ Washington 7 p.m.
Tue. 26 @ Miami 7: 30 p.m.
Thu. 28 DETROIT 7 p.m.
Sat. 30 MIAMI 7 p.m.
Mon. 1 @ Brooklyn 7: 30 p.m.
Wed. 3 HOUSTON 7 p.m.
Sat. 6 CLEVELAND 7 p.m.
Tue. 9 @ Dallas 8: 30 p.m.
Wed. 10 @ Milwaukee 8 p.m.
Fri. 12 @ Washington 7 p.m.
Tue. 16 MINNESOTA 7 p.m.
Thu. 18 @ Cleveland 7 p.m.
Sun. 21 @ Boston 1 p.m.
Tue. 23 SACRAMENTO 7 p.m.
Sat. 27 @ Indiana 7 p.m.
Tue. 30 @ Houston 8 p.m.
Wed. 31 L.A. LAKERS 7 p.m.
Sat. 3 WASHINGTON 7 p.m.
Mon. 5 @ Miami 7: 30 p.m.
Tue. 6 CLEVELAND 7 p.m.
Thu. 8 ATLANTA 7 p.m.
Sat. 10 MILWAUKEE 7 p.m.
Mon. 12 @ Chicago 8 p.m.
Wed. 14 CHARLOTTE 7 p.m.
Thu. 22 NEW YORK 7 p.m.
Sat. 24 @ Philadelphia 5 p.m.
Mon. 26 @ Oklahoma City 8 p.m.
Wed. 28 TORONTO 7 p.m.
Fri. 2 DETROIT 7 p.m.
Sat. 3 MEMPHIS 7 p.m.
Mon. 5 @ Utah 9 p.m.
Wed. 7 @ L.A. Lakers 10: 30 p.m.
Fri. 9 @ Sacramento 10 p.m.
Sat. 10 @ L.A. Clippers 10: 30 p.m.
Tue. 13 @ San Antonio 8: 30 p.m.
Wed. 14 MILWAUKEE 7 p.m.
Fri. 16 BOSTON 7 p.m.
Tue. 20 TORONTO 7 p.m.
Thu. 22 PHILADELPHIA 7 p.m. (NBA TV)
Sat. 24 PHOENIX 7 p.m.
Wed. 28 BROOKLYN 7 p.m.
Fri. 30 CHICAGO 7 p.m.
Sun. 1 @ Atlanta 6 p.m.
Tue. 3 @ New York 7: 30 p.m.
Wed. 4 DALLAS 7 p.m.
Fri. 6 CHARLOTTE 7 p.m.
Sun. 8 @ Toronto 6 p.m. (NBA TV)
Mon. 9 @ Milwaukee 8 p.m.
Wed. 11 WASHINGTON 8 p.m.
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