The Orlando Magic open their NBA Cup schedule looking to put a bad night behind them, and the matchup with the Toronto Raptors comes with plenty of familiar trouble spots.
Toronto’s edge in the first meeting showed up the hard way for Orlando. The Magic got a strong opening quarter, but the game swung once the Raptors turned up the pressure and forced turnovers. That disruption fed a fast break attack, and RJ Barrett’s electric first half helped Toronto stretch the margin.
Barrett has become a major factor in this rotation, and that role only grows when Kawhi Leonard is out. The expectation was always that Leonard would miss time at some point in the regular season, which would put Barrett in position for bigger minutes and bigger responsibility. What Toronto has gotten is steady production regardless of who is available, with Barrett looking capable of giving them a 20-point night on just about any evening.
The Raptors’ identity also makes life difficult for opposing offenses. They keep leaning into a defense-first roster build, and it shows in the way they guard multiple positions, stay active in their matchups and pressure the ball. Those stops create the transition chances that can break a game open in a hurry.
There is also a path for Orlando to make this tighter. Toronto may not repeat its best shooting performance of the season, when it hit 43 per cent from 3-point range against the Magic. If the Raptors cool off from deep and also run into early foul trouble again, that could narrow the gap between the teams.
Toronto enters as a 5.5-point favorite, but Orlando is being viewed as a team that can cover. Even so, there is still concern about Paolo Banchero’s effective field-goal percentage, which sits in the 15th percentile in the league, and the Magic’s key injuries make it tough to fully trust them. The prediction here is Raptors 117, Magic 112.
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Celtics Already Look Tougher To Defend Than Last Season
Anthony Black gave Orlando a steady lift in its win over Toronto, pairing playmaking with efficient decision-making as the Magic kept finding enough offense to get over the line. Franz Wagner was just as important, carrying a heavy scoring load in a game where Orlandos balance stood out, and the result offered another reminder that the Magic have more ways to win when their young core is clicking.
The bigger test, though, is what comes next against a Celtics team that already looks like a tougher defensive problem than it was a year ago. Jayson Tatums 26-point night in Chicago came with the kind of two-way support Boston has been leaning on, from Payton Pritchards energy to Paul Georges contributions, and that depth gives Orlando a very different scouting report to work from when the matchup arrives. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Face Real Pressure After That Raptors Blowout
The Magic are heading back into an NBA Cup matchup with Toronto carrying the memory of a 30-point loss from their previous meeting, and the rematch arrives with a very different feel around the roster. Orlando has been forced to shuffle through three different starting lineups lately because of injuries, and the lack of continuity has made every adjustment matter a little more as the group tries to steady itself in a tight tournament setting.
Desmond Banes shooting looms as a bigger part of the equation this time, especially with the offense searching for reliable spacing and rhythm. Sean Sweeney may have another lineup decision to make, too, with Tristan da Silva a possible fit next to Franz Wagner as Orlando looks for a combination that can hold up better against Toronto and avoid another night like the last one. [Read more 🡒]
Magic Frontcourt Just Exposed A Problem Toronto Has To Solve
Toronto still found a way to beat Orlando while controlling most of the game statistically, but the box score also pointed to one area the Raptors could not fully solve. The Magic won the battle on the glass in the spots that tend to swing close games, with a clear edge in offensive rebounds, second chance points and points off turnovers, and Trayce Jackson-Davis was active enough to matter with 6 points and 11 rebounds.
Jakob Poeltls night was a quiet one, as he managed just two points and two rebounds in 10 minutes before foul trouble cut his role short. The bigger issue for Toronto was how quickly the frontcourt rotation got stretched once both Poeltl and Collin Murray-Boyles fouled out, leaving the Raptors to reshuffle their interior group in a game that exposed how thin that margin can be. [Read more 🡒]