The Magic look to stake their claim as Florida's best team against Miami

The Orlando Magic were introduced to the NBA in 1989, one year after another Florida team, and their in-state rival Miami Heat. The Magic were the first team to reach the NBA finals out of Florida, but since then the Heat have long been superior to the Magic, 3-championships, constant playoff presence, an 81-62 all-time record in favor of the Heat, and Miami winning the lone playoff series.

And prior to the seasons beginning, everyone expected the Heat to once again be a play-in team while the Magic were seen as Eastern Conference contenders.

This projection was further solidified on the opening night of the season when the Magic beat the Heat 125-121. But Miami found their footing while the Magic stumbled out of the gate, leading us here today. With the Miami Heat one game ahead of the Orlando Magic for first place in the Southeast division.

Both teams now are playing very good basketball, top 6 in the East, and have aspirations for more.

In the first matchup the Heat were without Tyler Herro, and in this matchup, the Magic could be without star forward Paolo Banchero.

But one thing is still certain, this matchup looms large in not only the Eastern Conference, but the state of Florida, can the Magic finally show that they can overtake the Heat?

Prior to the season I Highlighted this idea in an article with three reasons, the Magic's Depth, their younger core, and their clear alpha.

But to begin the season, the Heat have proven me wrong in the first two reasons due to possibilities that I did list, Jaime Jaquez Jr. has found his game, Kel'el Ware has begun his leap, and Norman Powell has taken over providing a huge scoring advantage for the Heat. Miami's young role players have stepped up as well, but Orlando still clearly has not only the younger, deeper core, but the alpha, Paolo Banchero who is listed as questionable for tonight's matchup.

The Magic have found their footing without Banchero, working their way back up the Eastern Conference standings, and it will be interesting to see how much better they can get with the return of their star, their alpha, and their leader.

For the Heat, it will be essential to get back in rhythm on offense especially against the better defenses across the NBA.

Here is Miami's offensive rating against top 10 Defenses: 109.7 (No. 20, 2-3)

Heat Offensive Rating vs.

Top 10 Def: 109.7 (No. 20, 2-3)
Middle 10 Def: 117.9 (No. 11, 6-5)
Bottom 10 Def: 124.1 (No. 6, 6-0)

Sample size is so small it doesn't mean much for now, but this is the kind of data point we'll have to track all year.
— Couper Moorhead (@CoupNBA) December 4, 2025

The Magic, rank seventh and keeping their defensive tenacity up and slowing the game down will be essential to stopping Miami's high-powered offense.

Another win brings the Magic closer to winning the season series and with 2 matchups in the next five days, we can really find out if the Magic are overtaking the Heat, or if Miami still owns the state of Florida.