NBA Power Rankings: Where's Orlando Magic After 1-6 Start?

The Orlando Magic is a struggling team, but there is optimism surrounding the group. So where does the team land in the power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Oct 31, 2022

NBA Power Rankings: Where's Orlando Magic After 1-6 Start? /

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Orlando Magic

ORLANDO - The Orlando Magic sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings with a 1-6 record through seven games, but that doesn't tell the full story.

The Magic has been injured beyond belief in the backcourt and has only seen two home games across its first seven contests. Out of the six losses, four were by 10 points or less.

This week, the Magic played some tough opponents and grabbed its first win, a 20-point victory against the Charlotte Hornets. That's why Orlando moves five spots up from 29 to 24 in The Athletic's latest power rankings.

"Jamahl Mosley has this team defending pretty well early on," The Athletic writes. "Orlando does a solid job of protecting the rim, and it’s getting some help by everything in the paint that isn’t the restricted area bouncing the Magic’s way. The results are solid enough so far."

The defense is why the team rises, however, what's preventing the team from rising further is its shooting from distance. Orlando ranks 27th in offensive rating and 26th in effective field goal percentage.

"The Magic are pretty awful on offense, and a lot of it has to do with their inability to knock down open shots from 3-point range," The Athletic writes. "They’re equally bad on pull-up 3-pointers and catch-and-shoot 3-pointers. They’re sub-30 percent on open 3-pointers and below 35 percent on wide-open 3-pointers."

The Magic faces one more game on the road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday before a seven-game homestand that begins Thursday against the defending champion Golden State Warriors.

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Published Oct 31, 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.