NBA Power Rankings: Injured Magic Falling Back?

The Orlando Magic has been the most injured team in the league. How does that affect their placement in this week's power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Nov 28, 2022

NBA Power Rankings: Injured Magic Falling Back? /

The Orlando Magic is struggling with numerous injuries as the season trudges along.

The team had just seven of its 17 players available during the stretch run of Sunday's loss against the Philadelphia 76ers, its fourth straight defeat.

The team's losing streak is a big reason why Orlando moved from No. 26 to 29 in this week's power rankings from Sports Illustrated.

"The Magic went 0–3 last week, but they did have something to celebrate when Rookie of the Year favorite Paolo Banchero returned from a seven-game absence," SI writes. "There’s still a long list of names on Orlando’s injury report, but Banchero’s coming off it is a massive boost to this struggling team. It wasn’t enough for a win in either game against Philadelphia, though, and the Magic lost to Indiana earlier in the week without him. The upcoming schedule against the Nets, Hawks, Cavaliers and Raptors is also rather unforgiving."

The four-game slide is the longest since the team started 0-5 to begin the year, but there's a chance that this current losing streak could eventually become the worst of the season so far.

The Magic face the Brooklyn Nets tonight on the second half of a back-to-back on the road before returning to Orlando to face the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. Then, the team heads back out of town to play the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday and the Toronto Raptors on Saturday.

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Published Nov 28, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.