Heading into Sunday Night’s 113-110 loss hosting the Denver Nuggets, the Orlando Magic are 7th in the East.  This is three spots down from last week when warning was issued that impact games were coming.

After losing five out of their past six games including falling to two of the top four teams in their conference (the fourth-ranked Milwaukee Bucks and the second-ranked Boston Celtics) the Magic have dug themselves a hole. The bad news is that three of the Magic’s primary starting five are still out. Franz Wagner and Jalen Suggs represent the Magic’s second and third-best players on the squad while center Goga Bitadze has been a presence in the paint on offense and defense with 14 double-doubles on the season when healthy.

The good news is that Suggs and Wagner are both on clear paths to return to action. Suggs is likely to return in the coming week with his back issues, while Wagner’s best-case scenario coming back for his right oblique injury is in the same time frame. For Wagner, he is expected to return before the end of the month.

Considering the past week’s losses against the losses were both a basket away from 30 points, the Magic could use a shot in the arm for support. In those two games against Boston and Milwaukee, they only hit 19 of their 78 three-point attempts (23%) while giving up their second and third-highest point totals in the season.

After Sunday, the Magic are 23-21 having lost three since the halfway point of the season (after beating Philadelphia on January 12th). On Tuesday, the Magic go international to battle the Toronto Raptors in Canada. Then they return to KIA Center hosting the Portland Trail Blazers Thursday and the Detroit Pistons Saturday. With the Pistons currently placed in a play-in sport as a top 10 seed in the East, they are the last game before the Magic go on a six-game road trip.