Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers (Oct. 10, 2025): 3 Things to Watch, Odds and Prediction

The Orlando Magic return to action after last week's preseason debut, hoping to continue their increased pace and ramp up toward the start of the season.
The Orlando Magic take on the Philadelphia 76ers as they return to the court for preseason action.
The Orlando Magic take on the Philadelphia 76ers as they return to the court for preseason action. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers: Stats and 3 Keys to Watch

Orlando

2025 Preseason

Philadelphia

106.5

Pace

101.3

117.8

Off. Rtg.

92.6

111.3

Def. Rtg.

105.0

52.6

eFG%

44.3

46.4

O.Reb.%

27.5

17.8

TO%

19.7

31.6

FTR

40.1

3. Franz on the floor

Everyone was so excited for the Orlando Magic's debut last Saturday. After four months of anticipation, the Magic were going to take the floor, and we would get to see this potential championship-level team together.

Then the Magic put water on the fire, announcing before tip-off that Franz Wagner would sit out to continue managing his work rate after his busy summer at EuroBasket. The debut of the Magic's new trio (and quartet) would have to wait a little longer.

Franz Wagner is expected to play on Friday in Philadelphia. Although it is too soon, as of writing, to know who the Magic might sit in this game. But Wagner will get the chance to test himself in the Magic's new offensive system.

We saw a lot of Wagner already thanks to his gold medal run at EuroBasket. His shooting looked improved, but inconsistent. He looked unstoppable in the open floor. And the Magic's emphasis on pace should benefit Wagner because of how good he is at getting downhill.

Seeing him alongside Desmond Bane will be especially interesting with the spacing he could create. It will just nice to see Wagner back in a Magic uniform as the team ramps up for the regular season.

2. Better Execution

The goal for the preseason should be to get better each time the team hits the floor. This game should look better and more coherent than the last game. The Orlando Magic, after all, has had nearly a full week of practice to sharpen things up after Saturday's win over the Miami Heat.

While the Magic were solid in the win over the Heat, they were also pretty sloppy in expected ways. They turned the ball over a ton (especially the second unit), and they struggled with fouling. That is at least a product of some timing and to be expected.

This game, the Magic should aim to be much more solid. They should be looking to be sharper with their defensive rotations and control their turnovers. Some aggressive turnovers are still to be expected as players figure out how to play off each other. But the goal should be for a cleaner game.

1. Eyes on pace

The focus offensively throughout training camp has been on pace. Indeed, there was a noticeable uptick in possessions in Saturday's game against the Miami Heat. The team was playing faster and with more space. The offense looked refreshed in the ways everyone hoped.

But that is just one game. And the first preseason game is always a bit wonky. Everyone should want to see patterns. What will carry over? And, more importantly, how will all the pieces to the puzzle look together as the team plays more of their regulars together -- and for longer?

The Magic need to carry over what worked in the first game into the second and continue to expand. That is the opportunity afforded in this game against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers: Injury Report & Projected Lineups

Orlando Magic Injury Report

  • Franz Wagner - PROBABLE (Load Management - EuroBasket)
  • Jalen Suggs - OUT (Left Knee Trochlea Cartilage Tear)
  • Moe Wagner - OUT (Left Knee Torn ACL)

Philadelphia 76ers Injury Report

  • Joel Embiid - OUT (Left Knee Arthroscopic Surgery)
  • Paul George - OUT (Left Knee Bone Bruise)
  • Jared McCain - OUT (Right Thumb UCL Tear)
  • Quentin Grimes - PROBABLE (Return to Play Conditioning)
  • Trendon Watford - OUT (Hamstring)

Projected Lineups

Orlando

Philadelphia

Tyus Jones

PG

Tyrese Maxey

Desmond Bane

SG

V.J. Edgecombe

Franz Wagner

SF

Quentin Grimes

Paolo Banchero

PF

Kelly Oubre Jr.

Wendell Carter

C

Adem Bona

Orlando Magic at Philadelphia 76ers: Prediction

Our Record (Last Season): 51-37/45-43 ATS
Our Record (Preseason): 1-0/1-0

As always, take every preseason prediction with a huge grain of salt. Who knows how these games will actually go? After all, it was the Orlando Magic's bench two-way and Exhibit 10 players who powered the team to a comfortable win in the final moments of the fourth quarter on Saturday.

The starter won their minutes by one point. So that is a success, I guess.

But with the Philadelphia 76ers list of injuries and how young that team is with Joel Embiid and Paul George out, the Orlando Magic will be fielding a better base roster. The Magic should be able to overwhelm the Sixers with talent, provided they execute.

Like Orlando, Philadelphia has had roughly a week to prepare since coming home from a winless trip to Abu Dhabi. The Sixers should also be a much sharper team. And they have some energetic guards who impressed in those two games against the New York Knicks.

The Magic should still have a size advantage and still should be able to get their work in. This will be a good game to test how the Magic control tempo and whether they can dictate terms. This is a very different team than the Miami Heat team they played last week.

But it should be a good continued warmup to build on the last week of practice.