How Do The Miami Heat and Orlando Magic Fare In October?

When it comes to getting off to a good start in the NBA, the Miami Heat are in the middle of the pack. However, the first month of the season in recent years for the Orlando Magic has been anything but magical.

While the first month of the NBA season may be short, it is an important few games to get off to a hot start in October. FloridaBet.com used our Florida sports betting mindset and utilized ChampsorChumps.us to find the records of every NBA team in October since the 2017-2018 to find the best to worst teams during the first month of the NBA season. Note that all teams didn’t participate in the same amount of games, so ranking is based on win percentage. No games were played in October during the 2020-21 NBA season.

NBA Team Records in the Month of October Since 2017-18

For the story, we can cover each of the teams’ October games and any storylines as part of the October schedules for each of them. Below you'll find some information that may help you make decisions on Florida sports betting apps once they become legal.

Rank	Team	Record	Win Pct.
1	Milwaukee Bucks	22-9	.710
T-2	Toronto Raptors	23-10	.697
T-2	Utah Jazz	23-10	.697
4	Golden State Warriors	22-12	.647
5	Portland Trail Blazers	20-11	.645
T-6	Boston Celtics	19-11	.633
T-6	San Antonio Spurs	19-11	.633
8	Denver Nuggets	20-12	.625
9	Minnesota Timberwolves	18-13	.581
10	Philadelphia 76ers	19-14	.576
11	Memphis Grizzlies	17-13	.567
12	Charlotte Hornets	18-16	.529
T-13	Los Angeles Clippers	16-15	.516
T-13	Miami Heat	16-15	.516
15	Phoenix Suns	14-16	.467
T-16	Cleveland Cavaliers	14-17	.452
T-16	New York Knicks	14-17	.452
18	Los Angeles Lakers	14-18	.438
19	Washington Wizards	13-17	.433
T-20	Detroit Pistons	14-20	.412
T-20	Indiana Pacers	14-20	.412
T-22	Dallas Mavericks	13-19	.406
T-22	New Orleans Pelicans	13-19	.406
24	Chicago Bulls	12-19	.387
25	Brooklyn Nets	13-21	.382
26	Atlanta Hawks	12-20	.375
27	Oklahoma City Thunder	11-19	.367
T-28	Houston Rockets	11-21	.344
T-28	Orlando Magic	11-21	.344
T-28	Sacramento Kings	11-21	.344

Miami is Hotter Than Orlando in October

The Heat, which reached the NBA Finals for the second time in four seasons this past summer, won’t have any easy start to the 2023-24 season. They open at home against the Detroit Pistons on Oct. 25. They play the next three on the road, starting with an Oct. 27 game against the Boston Celtics, whom they defeated in seven games in the last season’s Eastern Conference final. The next night they play at the Minnesota Timberwolves, before ending the first month’s slate with a game at the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA title contenders whom they upset in the first round last season.

For the Magic, which last made the playoffs in 2020, they also have four games in the month. Their schedule features all Western Conference teams. After hosting the Houston Rockets on Oct. 25, they travel to play the new-look Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 27. They end the month with back-to-back games in Los Angeles. First against the Lakers on Oct. 30 and the next night against the Clippers.

Although there isn't a FanDuel sportsbook in Florida, nationally, Miami has the best odds of any Southeast Division team (-500) to make the playoffs. The Heat’s season win total is set at 44.5.

Orlando meanwhile has odds of +172 to make the playoffs, tied with Chicago for 11th best in the conference. FanDuel set the Magic’s season win total at 37.5, a figure they’ll likely need to exceed if they want to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2020.