Locked On Magic - Daily Podcast On The Orlando Magic

The Orlando Magic entered the season espousing their championship aspirations. More than midway through the season and a 128-92 blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, it cannot be clearer how far away this team is from those lofty ambitions. The Magic struggled again right from the jump, trailing by 25 points after one quarter and making the rest of the game academic. Orlando runs into the sam...

The Orlando Magic face a pivotal trade deadline with their playoff ambitions on the line. While the Magic's main goal likely remains to get under the tax, they must not be satisfied and must look to add a key player off their bench. They must aggressively reshape their roster to keep up with the East and support a (slowly) improving roster. The Magic know they have a lot of pieces in place with a...

The Orlando Magic had every advantage in their favor in their matchup with the San Antonio Spurs. Instead they stumbled, letting a weary Spurs team outwork them and dominate the game with their aggression and physicality. Orlando still had its chances to win, erasing an early deficit and taking a halftime lead. But the Magic could not get out of their own way with turnovers, fouling and other frus...

The Orlando Magic rallied past the Toronto Raptors with a fourth-quarter surge powered by their starting lineup and Desmond Bane's season-high seven 3-pointers. The Magic hope leaning on their starters to secure a huge win can be a confidence-boosting and shaping victory for the team as they come out of their mid-season doldrums. This could be a turning point for the team. But there are still a lo...

A lot of noise and rumors have surrounded the Orlando Magic as they have struggled this year. They are working to silence those doubts on the court first but they have also silenced the doubts at the press table. Both Paolo Banchero and Jamahl Mosley refuted suggestions that the two were not seeing eye to eye as the Magic try to get out of this rut. The frustration may still be palpable, but the M...

The Orlando Magic snapped their four-game losing streak with a statement win over the Miami Heat, exploding for 133 points and rediscovering their trademark joy and swagger. Amid all the noise and the depressive cloud hanging over this team's head, the Magic got a big game from Paolo Banchero and Anthony Black to lead the way and silence the noise for at least one game. Orlando got back to its bas...

The Orlando Magic are at a crossroads for their season. Injuries, lineup struggles and the trade deadline have created a lot of uncertainty that could derail their Playoff hopes. The Magic right now are banking on the return of Franz Wagner to fix everything, the same way they hoped Jalen Suggs would reinvigorate the team. The Magic are seemingly always waiting on something to fall into place. But...

The Orlando Magic are in a spiral as the team lost its fourth straight game in a loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday. That opponent was especially poignant as the two teams were supposed to battle at the top of the Eastern Conference following their seven-game series two years ago. Instead, the Cavs have found their groove this season after a slow start, while the Magic have started to fall...

The Orlando Magic's offense sputtered again in a frustrating 119-105 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Orlando is trying to find consistent energy to get them through games and allow them to compete. They have not been able to rely on their defense. That has continued to slip and looks even worse with the team's offensive struggles. And the offense remains a major problem that the team cannot rely...

The Orlando Magic are struggling with their identity and effort. They identified several things they needed to do better ahead of their game against the Charlotte Hornets and then failed to do them all in a blowout 124-97 defeat at home. The Magic are asking themselves some very big questions after another disappointing blowout loss. They are not themselves or who they hoped to be. Orlando is look...

The Orlando Magic are eyeing a second-half surge as Jalen Suggs nears a return. Will his presence be enough to reshape the Magic and move them in the right direction? Or is there a deeper issue the Magic must resolve beyond getting their best players back and in rhythm. Suggs' return is imminent as he was upgraded to QUESTIONABLE for Thursday's game against the Charlotte Hornets. Are the Magic rea...

The Orlando Magic prepare for the second half of their season with all of their goal still in front of them to achieve. But they will need to put their past behind them and lock back into their identity to get there. Can Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner meet the challenge and lead the team back to their expectations and standard? Can coach Jamahl Mosley right the ship and lead the team deep into th...

The Orlando Magic hit the season's midpoint with a lot of questions swirling about their identity. They have fallen well short of their preseason ambitions at this point. Can they break through and overcome their inconsistencies? Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel joins the show to discuss the Magic's season so far, what has gone wrong and how the Magic rediscover their identity. We discuss the s...

The Orlando Magic again fell flat with a poor defensive effort as they continue their run of inconsistent play. The Memphis Grizzlies blitzed them early with another hot-shooting start that did not dissipate. The Magic never fully reeled the Grizzlies back in and their stars failed to deliver consistent scoring to stabilize the team as they fell further and further behind. The team is still strugg...

Anthony Black made the dunk heard 'round the world as he split two defenders to dunk over four Memphis Grizzlies players to break a tie and guide the Orlando Magic to a 118-111 win in Berlin. Black's audacious dunk and confident play overall are reminding the Magic of their formula for success -- their physical defense, their confidence and their boldness to play. The Magic found pieces of it in e...

The Orlando Magic pushed all their chips in for Desmond Bane this offseason. It has not panned out exactly how they hoped it would. Bane has yet to regain his shooting form and the Magic are not maximizing his shooting yet. But the trade has unequivocally been successful for the team. Without Bane, the Magic's season would have easily gone off the rails. And while Orlando has leaned on his playmak...

Franz Wagner’s imminent return has Orlando Magic fans buzzing—will his presence be the spark Orlando needs to regain their edge in the Eastern Conference? The Magic have treaded water at 8-8 since Wagner's injury. Their offense and defense have both taken a nosedive from their early-season successes. Orlando needs Wagner to help stabilize the lineup and get them back on track. Wagner is not the on...

Orlando Magic approach a pivotal midseason crossroads as Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs battle injuries and mounting expectations. Can the team break their alternation of wins and losses to seize a top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference? With memories of past January collapses still fresh, the Magic face a defining stretch—including a high-profile matchup in Berlin where homegrow...

The Orlando Magic's "Killer B's" -- Paolo Banchero, Desmond Bane and Anthony Black -- stepped up in the fourth quarter and delivered a killer run to defeat the New Orleans Pelicans. They scored 28 of the 30 points in a 30-11 push to end the game, and erase a nine-point fourth-quarter deficit. They showed the effort and leadership that they will need to get through the rest of the season. The only...

The Orlando Magic's offense stalled once again against the Philadelphia 76ers as Paolo Banchero struggled in crunch time. Has Orlando’s offensive identity hit a wall? The Magic's fourth-quarter collapses and inconsistent play speak to the team's inability to adjust and find another way to play, the effect of the absences of several key players and a one-dimensional offensive philosophy. But it als...

The Orlando Magic steered clear of a blockbuster Trae Young despite years of people trying to connect him to the Magic in a potential trade. The Magic were never hunting for a blockbuster trade this season with the team's cap situation. Instead, they are trying to thread a very fine needle -- improving the roster while also shedding $5.6 million in salary to get under the tax. Fulfilling that goal...

The Orlando Magic escaped the Brooklyn Nets in overtime thanks to a banked-in 3-pointer by Paolo Banchero at the final buzzer. It is yet another clutch moment for this Magic team that was preceded by an epic fourth-quarter collapse. Why is the team struggling to close out games? Why do they need so many heroic moments? The Magic have had several instances where they went into cruise control too ea...

The Orlando Magic stumbled in a costly 120-112 loss to the Washington Wizards as they once again failed to put forth an acceptable effort. The Magic have had many of these games that do not meet their standard, only finding it too late after Jamahl Mosley benched his starters down 26 points. Is this something they can solve with the impending returns of Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs? Or are there d...

The Orlando Magic are not where they hoped they would be this early in the season, fighting in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. But the team is still in a good position to climb if they can get their team together. Orlando has historically improved as the season goes on, the team's schedule sets up for success and the team can still get healthy and reach their full potential. The...

The Orlando Magic ground out a 135-127 win over the Indiana Pacers despite another poor defensive effort. The important thing for them is to find a way to win. They will take the wins wherever they can get them. The Magic are still struggling to find their defensive identity and their formula to win right now. Until they get that under control, they must take what the game gives them. On Sunday af...