Magic and Heat Start Their Seasons With Florida Face-Off
As the NBA season gets underway, two Florida teams with vastly differing trajectories open their season against one another Wednesday night.
The Orlando Magic and Miami Heat were both handled fairly easily last postseason by Boston and Cleveland, respectively. However, where the teams vary is in the offseason moves. While Miami improved steadily along the edges by adding Simone Fontecchio, Norman Powell and drafting Illinois guard Kasparas Jakucionis, Orlando made a massive swing by trading four future unprotected first-round picks (one of which is Phoenix’s first-rounder in 2026) to the Memphis Grizzlies for shooting guard Desmond Bane.
Bane offers a dimension to Orlando’s offense that the Magic organization has not had in a long time. While the package for Bane was hefty, Orlando has not had a top-20 offense since 2012. That 13-year gap of sporting a bottom-10 offense is more than enough justification to take a swing at an offensive talent. Bane, a career 41% three-point shooter and perennial borderline All-Star, is a surefire offensive machine that can stretch the floor and create opportunities through his gravity. The floor being spread for star forward Paolo Banchero and second banana Franz Wagner will tremendously aid in their efficiency on offense.
While only winning 41 games last season, Orlando’s three best players each struggled to stay on the court. Banchero played 46 games, guard Jalen Suggs only played 35 and Franz Wagner played a respectable, but up-and-down, 60. A healthy season with the addition of Desmond Bane, and Orlando is primed for a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami’s offseason was less impactful. The aforementioned fringe moves counteracted their fringe losses. Duncan Robinson walked in free agency, Kyle Anderson and Kevin Love were sent to Utah and Haywood Highsmith was dumped to Brooklyn in August to clear up salary cap space..
While Miami is still coached by the always magnificent Erik Spoelstra and anchored defensively by five-time All-Defensive Team forward/center Bam Adebayo, All-Star guard Tyler Herro is out until at least December following ankle surgery. Herro was Miami’s only hope for offense last season, and without him, the team was abysmal. Even with Herro, who averaged nearly 24 points per game, the Heat had the most clutch time losses in the NBA last season, going a ghastly 14-28 in close games. Now, their only hope for scoring is out for at least eight weeks. While the arrow is pointing up in Orlando, it is most certainly pointing down in South Beach.
The season opener for both teams is Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Kia Center in Orlando.
Category: Basketball, NBA, Orlando Magic
