NBA Halloween: Playing Tick or Treat with the 9 hottest teams out of the gate
Orlando Magic
The Orlando Magic clearly have one of the best cores in the NBA. They also may have the best young, rising star in the league not named Victor Wembanyama. Paolo Banchero continues to tear up the league and has already scored 50 points in a game this season. He's going to continue to flash that superstar potential as he looks to take another step forward in his progression as a player. But even with his excellent play, it still feels as if the Magic are missing something before we can truly consider them a strong contender in the Eastern Conference.
Part of that may be continuing to mature as a young group, or it could be a missing piece that the Magic have. Either way, I anticipate the front office trying to work on that as we inch closer to the NBA Trade Deadline. But even if the Magic don't make another move this season, they're still going to emerge as a headache for any contender in the conference.
This is a team that no one will want to face in the playoffs. But, despite that, I can't pencil this team in as a contender this season. They still have some growing and developing to do before that happens. Because of that, the Magic have to be considered a "trick" at this point in the season.