Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers (Jan. 19, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic hope to get Wendell Carter back to deal with Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers and get back on the winning path.

Orlando Magic (8-37) at Philadelphia 76ers (25-18)

Time/TV: 7 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-76ERS ON FUBO TV
FOLLOW LIVE @OMAGICDAILY
Line via WynnBet: Sixers by 12
Tickets: $8-$294 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: 76ers 101, Magic 96 in Philadelphia on Nov. 29; 76ers 116, Magic 106 in Orlando on Jan. 5; Tonight in Philadelphia; March 13 in Orlando

OMD Prediction

Even teams at the bottom of the standings will have moments of revelation. They will go through spurts where they play well and things start to click. What makes these teams “bad” or sink to the bottom of the standings is they last a short while. They peter out quickly.

The Orlando Magic seemed to have that moment to start the month. They were competitive and gave themselves chances to win almost every game they played to start things off. But the Magic were not able to breakthrough. They only had one win to show for this positive play.

The last two games saw the Magic hit that rut again. Their offense sputtered and they fell behind early by their own mistakes and struggled to catch up. Orlando may have lost that spark.

But there is always another game. And always another challenge. If Wendell Carter is playing, he has given Joel Embiid some trouble so far this season. Still, it will be a tall task.

3 Keys To Watch

Credit to the defense

There is a lot of doom and gloom over the Orlando Magic after the last two games. And that is perfectly fair. The team has sputtered in those two games and struggled to get much of anything going consistently. The Magic have had their struggles — and a lot of them can point toward the offensive end of the floor.

Let’s give the team some flowers. Because while the offense is predictably sputtering, the team has actually been defending really well.

The Magic just played two of the best offenses in the league and held them well below their season averages. The Charlotte Hornets (season average of 112.3 points per 100 possessions) scored only 100.9 points per 100 possessions in the Orlando Magic’s win. The Portland Trail Blazers (season average of 110.0 points per 100 possessions) scored only 96.1 points per 100 possessions in their 98-88 win.

Orlando’s defense has been steadily climbing of late.

The Magic have given up fewer than 110.0 points per 100 possessions in six of their past nine games. There are still those notable slips in the process, but the Magic are a much better defensive team — ranking 12th in the league 109.0 points allowed per 100 possessions) over the last 15 games and seventh (106.9 points allowed per 100 possessions) in their nine games in January.

What to do with Embiid

The Orlando Magic have had some battles with Joel Embiid this year.

Embiid has continued to tear through the league this year, averaging 27.3 points per game this season. In his last 15 games, he is averaging 30.9 points per game and shooting 52.8-percent on the floor. At this point Embiid has been carrying the Sixers through injuries, COVID outbreaks and Ben Simmons’ absence into the Playoffs on his own. And he is that good that it will probably get them out of the play-in tournament.

The Magic have had a decent shot against Embiid in their two meetings.

In the first game in Philadelphia, Embiid scored only 16 points on 4-or-16 shooting. Orlando did a good job doubling him and relying on Wendell Carter to make his life difficult. The Magic were engaged and active defensively and gave themselves a real shot to win.

In the second game in Orlando, Embiid scored 31 points on 12-for-22 shooting and had six turnovers. The Magic still doubled him hard and he found open shooters to allow the 76ers to get some distance. Foul trouble for both Wendell Carter and Mo Bamba allowed him to get loose.

Either way, Orlando had plenty of good defensive moments in each game. But they will need Carter and his size to slow him down. Carter is listed as QUESTIONABLE with a sore left hamstring. The Magic need him for that defensive presence against Embiid.

Suggs at the rim

Jalen Suggs’ return has been a very welcomed sight for the Orlando Magic. He is playing really well, averaging 12.7 points per game and dishing out 4.0 assists per game. The turnovers are still a bit high overall but his shooting percentage has risen to a solid number.

In Suggs’ three games back on the court, he is shooting 58.6-percent from the floor. The 3-point shooting is not there yet but that rise in his shooting is a big deal. Suggs is shooting 56.6-percent on shots within five feet and 20.5-percent from 5-9 feet. In his last three games, Suggs is shooting 14 for 17 (82.4-percent) within five feet and 2 for 6 from 5-9 feet.

Jalen Suggs said after practice Tuesday that one of the things he worked on and thought about with player development coach Randy Gregory was how to have a better plan attacking the basket and doing so with better purpose. He has been smarter about staying on balance and taking better shots at the rim.

This is a small adjustment, but it is already turning up huge dividends for the Magic and for the young guard.