The Orlando Magic find themselves 2-4, six games into the 2026-27 season.

The Magic have unfortunately been without star Paolo Banchero and fellow starter Jalen Suggs, both out due to injury.

It's reasonable to expect some success from this Magic unit without Banchero and Suggs. However, maybe it's important not to be too critical of their performance without their two starters.

But the Magic need to show more this week to prove that. This leads to the one burning question for Orlando. If the Magic don't win games, then they at least have to show that they are just their healthy starting lineup away from doing so.

Can they show upside in all their games this week?

In the first two weeks of the season, the Magic won one game per week.

Week one featured two losses before a win on the road against New York.

Week two consisted of a tough 30-point loss to Toronto before bouncing back with a victory against the Raptors in their second matchup.

The Magic had the chance to get a win streak going, but unfortunately fell to the Boston Celtics 108-97.

These past two games for Orlando featured strong playmaking performances from Franz Wagner. He has dished out 11 and 12 assists in the last two games.

If Wagner can keep this up once Banchero and Suggs come back, this will be a great dynamic for the team. He is currently averaging seven assists per game. Prior to this season, the most assists Wagner averaged in a regular season was 4.7 in 2024-25.

This could have some interesting implications for the Magic with Banchero out on the floor. If Wagner can be a scoring and playmaking threat, there could be great opportunities for him to react to defenses.

Wagner could read the defenses in offensive schemes with Banchero that allow him to either score or kick it to Banchero. It could even have an impact on other players, such as Wendell Carter Jr. as well.

Anthony Black and Tristan da Silva have had strong performances as well. This bodes well for the Magic's bench unit when Banchero and Suggs return.

A strong bench unit is very important. Black and da Silva continue to show why they can be impactful off the bench.

If they keep up the strong performances, the Magic could have strong rotations with all their starters healthy.

The Magic have to either win or have close losses. By winning, or at the very least putting up a fight in each game, it proves that the ceiling can be high when all the starters are healthy.

But the Magic must prove this by showing resilience, competitiveness, and consistency this week to showcase that this is a real possibility for Orlando this season. Playing clean basketball is also important this week, as that will help establish good habits and rhythm.