{"id":446102,"date":"2026-11-03T13:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/446102\/"},"modified":"2026-11-03T13:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-03T13:14:12","slug":"why-the-orlando-magic-continue-to-struggle-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/446102\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the Orlando Magic continue to struggle at home"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orlando Magic are still searching for a win inside Kia Center.<\/p>\n

The Washington Wizards<\/a>, led by No. 1 overall pick AJ Dybantsa, handed the Magic their fourth loss of the season at home with a 103-94 win. The Magic drop to 2-5 on the season and now head to the West Coast for a four-game road trip.<\/p>\n

But first, here are our takeaways from Monday’s loss, which came on the second night of a back-to-back.<\/p>\n

Jamal Cain’s confidence continues to grow:\"Magic<\/p>\n

Nov 2, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic forward Jamal Cain (8) handles the ball in front of Washington Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Before we touch on some of the bad: Jamal Cain’s confidence continues to grow.<\/p>\n

Most of Cain’s production came in the first half. He scored 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting and 2-of-3 from 3-point range — one apiece from each corner. Cain has now made at least one three in four of his last five games, including multiple in two of his last three.<\/p>\n

His confidence and mechanics from deep look much better than they did at the start of his career, when he was trying to make the Miami Heat’s roster. <\/p>\n

If nothing else, that’s a positive sign.<\/p>\n

Building a brickhouse:\"Orlando<\/p>\n

Nov 2, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando Magic guard Desmond Bane (3) shoots a three point basket over Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) during the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Now, the bad.<\/p>\n

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: The Magic’s shooting went ice cold.<\/p>\n

From the start of the second until 10:51 in the fourth quarter, they missed 19 of their 21 3-point attempts, with the two makes coming from Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva, the Magic’s two-best shooters.<\/p>\n

da Silva had an uncharacteristically poor night from distance. Despite getting several open looks, the 25-year-old forward shot just 2-for-10 from 3-point range — and 2-for-4 inside the arc. Bane led the Magic with four made threes (on 10 attempts).<\/p>\n

After scoring a season-high 33 points in the first quarter, Orlando scored 26, 9 and 26 points over the final three quarters, respectively. In the second half, it shot just 35.9 percent from the floor and 4-of-21 from deep. Yikes!<\/p>\n

Franz Wagner continues to live in the paint:\"Magic<\/p>\n

Nov 2, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) defends Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) during the second quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Wagner’s shooting — or lack thereof — hasn’t helped the Magic’s woes. But when he’s at his best, he’s punishing defenses on the interior.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot-10 wing continued to live in the paint<\/a> in the nine-point loss. Once again, the majority of his buckets came either at or around the restricted area.<\/p>\n

Wagner, who entered the night attempting north of 70 percent of his shots from inside 14 feet, converted on nine of his 13 attempts at the rim, including four inside the restricted area. He’s muscling through any defender he wants, but he knows which hand to use to create better angles<\/p>\n

Magic had no answers for these 2 cogs:\"Orlando<\/p>\n

Nov 2, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Washington Wizards forward Anthony Davis (23) shoots against Orlando Magic guard Jase Richardson (11) during the first quarter at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

There were two Wizards forwards who killed the Magic all night: Anthony Davis and Kyshawn George.<\/p>\n

Starting alongside Deandre Ayton for the first time this season (Alex Sarr did not play), whether he was operating in the short roll or isolating out of the mid-post, Davis had every answer to the test. He killed Orlando with his inbetween touch, scoring 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting with nine rebounds and three steals in the winning effort.<\/p>\n

Running out of words to explain how good Kyshawn George is. Huge bucket here to push the lead back to 7. pic.twitter.com\/Fmf5BgEepT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Wizards Film Room (@KevinFolliNBA) November 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

And a few of his misses were poor lob passes that the 31-year-old couldn’t quite tip-in. The noticeably stronger George was a thorn for Orlando on both ends. He scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a huge pull-up jumper with 3:17 left, creating just enough separation against da Silva before rising up at the free-throw line.<\/p>\n

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