Orlando Magic vs. Philadelphia 76ers (March 13, 2022): 3 Things To Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic look to build off their win to open their homestand as they take on the Philadelphia 76ers juggernaut with Joel Embiid and James Harden.

Orlando Magic (18-50) vs. Philadelphia 76ers (40-25)

Time/TV: 6 p.m./Bally Sports Florida
WATCH MAGIC-76ERS ON FUBO TV
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Line via WynnBet: 76ers by 12
Tickets: $40-$553 on StubHub
2022 Season Series: 76ers 101, Magic 96 in Philadelphia on Nov. 29; 76ers 116, Magic 106 in Orlando on Jan. 5; 76ers 123, Magic 110 in Philadelphia on Jan. 19; Tonight in Orlando

OMD Prediction

The Orlando Magic certainly feel their improvement. They do not necessarily need the numbers to let them know that they are playing better. They know they are in games more often and that their defense is leading the way. Everything has come together in really impressive ways for this young team. The team is starting to play exactly how they imagined.

The question for this young team is just how good are they? How real are the improvements they are making? How does that translate in games against opponents who matter?

Orlando had some hiccups but still had an impressive showing in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. The Magic played stellar defense after falling behind by 18 against one of the top offenses in the league. They earned their way to an impressive win against a playoff team playing really well.

Of course, despite the loss on Thursday, the Philadelphia 76ers are playing at another level. This is another kind of offense and another level of star the Magic will be dealing with. This will be a big test of their defense.

3 Keys To Watch

Magic’s defense vs. the best

Here are the numbers: For the season, the Orlando Magic are 20th in the league in defensive rating giving up 111.6 points per 100 possessions. In their last 15 games, they are ninth with a defensive rating of 110.9 points per 100 possessions. Since the All-Star Break (eight games), they are first with a defensive rating of 105.7 points allowed per 100 possessions. That is an undeniable improvement.

But the question is always how do the Magic play against the best teams? The Magic have fared decently at times, but it has been a lot of bad. In their most recent game against the best offense in the league, the Utah Jazz, they gave up 112.9 points per 100 possessions in that loss. There are good signs defensively.

Still, there are plenty of hiccups. The Memphis Grizzlies broke this really strong defensive run with 120.4 offensive rating in that blowout win. The loss to the Atlanta Hawks before the All-Star Break saw them give up 128.7 points per 100 possessions. They gave up 128.7 points per 100 possessions to a fully healthy Phoenix Suns team too. The Orlando Magic got crushed in four meetings with the Milwaukee Bucks before their defense started coming around in January.

Orlando is still working to play its best defense against the best teams. That is the next step in the team’s development for sure.

Embiid and Harden

So obviously, the biggest challenge comes now against Joel Embiid and James Harden and the new-look Philadelphia 76ers. This is a monumental challenge for the Orlando Magic’s defense.

The 76ers are 13th in the league this season with a 111.7 offensive rating. But since acquiring Harden, Philadelphia is scoring 117.9 points per 100 possessions (eight in the league). More importantly, the 76ers are 5-2 since Harden started playing for them.

Embiid has been a juggernaut. It is not just the 50-point game he had in 27 minutes of action against Orlando. Embiid might well be the MVP favorite right now averaging 29.7 points per game.

Harden too has been rejuvenated in Philadelphia. He is averaging 22.3 points per game and 11.2 assists per game since arriving in Philadelphia. This is a dominant offensive team right now and the Magic have had trouble dealing with both Embiid and Harden throughout their history.

Markelle vs. Philadelphia

There will be very little separation between Markelle Fultz and the Philadelphia 76ers for a while. There will always be that what if with Fultz.

He is still undeniably talented and still makes a huge impact. Philadelphia fans will always be angry it seems for Fultz having to deal with an injury during their ascendancy. He was as much the product of the Process as anything else — and a sign of its failure to some extent.

But Fultz is still really good. And Philadelphia’s loss was Orlando’s gain. The Orlando Magic have given Fultz his space to recover and get healthy and have reaped whatever rewards they can — even if injuries have still followed him.

Fultz is averaging 10.4 points per game and 4.4 assists per game in 17.0 minutes per game in five games. He is posting 22.0 points and 9.3 assists per 36 minutes. Everyone is eager to see Fultz play more minutes. But the Magic are still going to play things slowly with him.

Fultz has still saved his best for Philadelphia. Fultz has yet to play at Wells Fargo Center because of the quirks of the schedule (and the bubble), but he is averaging 10.8 points and 4.0 assists per game against his former team.

Fultz is sure to have some juice in his limited minutes in this game.