Orlando Magic Release 2010/11 Schedule

The Orlando Magic have released their complete 2010/11 schedule via their official website. Some notes from the press release:

Orlando will play a total of 17 home games on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this season. The 2010-11 Magic schedule also features 20 back-to-back contests (40 games played on consecutive nights), including 12 "fly-out" games, where Orlando hosts the first game then hits the road immediately for the second [....]

The Magic have a season-long seven-game homestand from February 11-March 1 (including the NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, Feb. 19-20). Orlando’s longest road trips are both five games long, taking place January 8-17 (five games in 10 days) and March 9-16 (five games in eight days).

Particular games of interest, at least to me, follow the jump:

• Oct. 28th - Orlando kicks off its season and opens the Amway Center, its new building, with a game against the Washington Wizards

• Oct. 29th - The Magic visit South Beach to take on the heavyweight Miami Heat, now featuring Chris Bosh and LeBron James in addition to Dwyane Wade

• Nov. 8th - The Atlanta Hawks visit Orlando for the first time after the Magic swept them in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

• Nov. 24th - Miami visits Amway Center for the first time.

• Dec. 25th - For the second straight Christmas, the Magic host the Boston Celtics in a playoff rematch.

• Jan. 12th - After a three-day layoff, the Magic face Chris Paul and the New Orleans Hornets, assuming they haven't already acquired Paul by then.

• Feb. 13th - Former Magic forward Matt Barnes gets his first shot at sinking the team he felt jilted him when the L.A. Lakers visit. And yes, the Lakers are the two-time defending champs and eliminated the Magic from the NBA Finals in 2009. Just so no one can accuse me of burying the lede.

The Magic got off easy, relatively speaking, with their road trips, which max out at five games on two separate occasions, as the release mentions. But facing the Oklahoma City Thunder on Jan. 13th, just one day after a visit to New Orleans Arena, is brutal. Worse, having to play the Lakers on March 14th one day after a game against the uptempo Phoenix Suns. And, of course, opening the season with three straight back-to-back sets isn't appealing.

The toughest stretch will come in December, when Orlando will have just six home dates compared to 10 away ones. And the only likely lottery-bound teams on the schedule that month are Detroit, the L.A. Clippers, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Cleveland. That month will indeed test the Magic's mettle.

But from Feb. 11 to March 1, the Magic will not play a road game, and the only traveling they'll do will take place during All-Star weekend. Though the competition during that season-long homestand isn't particularly easy, it should nonetheless allow the players to settle into a bit of a groove before a five-game road tripe the following month.