Last week, I asked if the Magic were the best team in the NBA. This week, I’ll focus on what’s important - three more wins and continued success on the road.

Even with their loss to the defending NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs, the Orlando Magic won three of four games during the week and improved to 13-3 overall. They’re five games up on second place Washington in the Southeast division, and are tied with Boston for the best record in the Eastern conference.

On the road, the Magic have the league’s best record with 8 wins and only 1 loss. This is hopefully a sign of how the early part of the season will go, as the team is currently on a five-game road trip out west with another such trip in early January (not to mention a quick two-game trip in December to play Dallas and Houston).

While I don’t expect the Magic to win 90% of their road games this season, these early-season trips represent the toughest stretch away from home that the team will face. If they maintain their positive momentum, they could easily win 25 or 30 of their 41 road games.

To summarize week four, the Magic put up wins against Charlotte, Miami and Portland with only the one loss to the Spurs. Week five starts Wednesday night against Seattle (a team the Magic has beat), and continues against Phoenix, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State.

After watching the Portland game on Monday night, I’m crossing my fingers that the Magic can win two of those four games. The team seemed tired and played lazily through the first two-plus quarters, something that lends itself to losing games in hostile environments. Let’s hope that was just an adjustment game for Orlando, and that they can come home with a signature win or two.

Notes:

• With a 13-3 record, the Magic are on pace for 66 wins, a number that would easily eclipse the Magic’s 1995-96 team record of 60 wins.
• The Magic started last season 13-4, but ended the season with a 40-42 record (and were swept in the playoffs by Detroit).

Week-by-week record:

• Week 1: 3-1
• Week 2: 3-1
• Week 3: 4-0
• Week 4: 3-1

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