ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic are continuing their stretch of playing six playoff teams from a year ago to start the season as they welcome the Minnesota Timberwolves to town.

The Magic saw their first test come up short in their loss against the Atlanta Hawks on opening night, but they are looking to bounce back against the Wolves. The Magic are excited about getting a chance to prove themselves against some of the league's stiffer competition to start out the season.

"I think it's great for us to start off playing against great teams because you know it prepares you for the next games, and I think right now, you know, they hit us, they got us, they beat us at home. I think it's just gotten to be a comeback," Goga Bitadze said.

"We know we can play with everybody, and I mean, you're going to have to play everybody at some point. So if you want to go deep in the playoffs, just get to it, take the challenge, and come back from losing the first game at home."

"We got a lot of great teams to start this season. It's a great test to see where we're at. Looking forward to more competition," Desmond Bane added.

Magic Will Be Tested Early

Getting a win at home against the Wolves will be crucial for the Magic. Following this, they head out on a three-game road trip to visit the defending champion New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden and the Toronto Raptors for a two-game series at Scotiabank Arena. That's far from an easy road trip at this point in the season, especially considering the Raptors pulled out a 43-point victory on opening night against the Chicago Bulls.

If they don't find a win against the Wolves, they're going to have to figure out how to win on the road. Otherwise, they will come back to Orlando in early November as a 0-5 basketball team with a back-to-back against the Boston Celtics and the new-look Washington Wizards.

It's only one loss, so it can be fixed quickly. If they don't make some change soon, though, this could snowball into a losing streak that could kill any momentum they have built over the course of the preseason.

The tip-off between the Wolves and Magic is scheduled for 7 pm ET inside the Kia Center. Fans can watch the game on Magic TV 27 or stream it on NBA League Pass.