ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic will open their 2019-20 season at the Amway Center on October 23 against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
- Magic to open 2019-20 season at Amway Center against Cavaliers
- Early part of schedule sets up team for possible strong start
- Team will have just one nationally televised game, will be against Heat
- READ: Full Orlando Magic 2019-20 schedule
The Magic are coming off their first playoff appearance in seven years, falling to the eventual-champion Toronto Raptors in the first round. Orlando took Game 1 of that series before Toronto won the next four games to advance.
The return to the postseason was a breakthrough for a young Magic team that needed to go 22-9 in the final stretch of the season to make the playoffs. They have designs of making the playoffs again, returning every major player from that team this year. Orlando will hope that All-Star center Nikola Vucevic and sharpshooter Terrence Ross keep up their career years while hoping young players like Aaron Gordon, Jonathan Isaac, Mohamed Bamba and Markelle Fultz continue to develop and mature.
The early part of the schedule sets up to give the Magic a strong start.
Orlando will start the season with nine of the first 13 games at home, including a season-long five-game homestand at the Amway Center beginning November 8. The Magic will need to bank those wins early as they finish the year with five of their final seven games on the road. They close the season April 15 against the Raptors.
The Magic will enter a league that will look vastly different than the one they left at the end of the year. The league saw several All-Star players change teams in free agency and trades. That along with some high-profile injuries has opened the league up to new contenders in the league.
LeBron James and the newly acquired Anthony Davis will lead the Los Angeles Lakers into Orlando on December 11. That game will be followed on December 13 with a game between the Magic and the re-tooled Houston Rockets, who now feature former league MVP Russell Westbrook with former MVP James Harden. Kawhi Leonard, who averaged 27.8 points per game against hte Magic in the playoffs, will lead his LA Clippers into Orlando on Sunday, January 26. Leauge MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo will visit Orlando with the Milwaukee Bucks twice on November 1 and February 8.
The Magic will have just one nationally televised game. On March 4, the team's game against the Miami Heat in Miami will air on ESPN. That could change if the team outperforms expectations.
Orlando will also benefit from one of the league's emphasis to reduce the number of back to backs. The Magic will play in a franchise-low 11 back to backs this year, helping reduce the wear and tear on the players.
The Magic will open their training camp on October 1 at the AdventHealth Practice Court at the Amway Center before opening their preseason schedul in San Antonio on October 5.