by Chuck Sommers
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
Where to watch: NBCSP, BSFL
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: 76ers -8.5
FanDuel: 76ers -9
BetMGM: 76ers -8.5
Caesars: 76ers -8.5
Season record
Magic: 20-31
76ers: 32-17
The second half of the basketball season is upon us, and what a cluster we've got in the standings right now, right? So many teams are in the playoff hunt, so many teams not expected to make the playoffs are in the process of trying to prove people wrong. You know who doesn't need to be made wrong? Our champion handicappers who have been killing it all year long. Scott Rickenbach is coming off a 5-2-0 week over the last seven days, while Doc's Sports has been efficient at 14-8-0 over the last 30 days. Do you want to get on this winning? Make sure you're following our champion handicappers at bigal.com to celebrate in these moments!
Magic - 76ers preview, prediction and analysis
It's looking to be deja vu all over again between the Orlando Magic and Philadelphia 76ers. And if this is any indication of how the last game went then this is going to be a very long week for Philadelphia. But if the Sixers respond the way that I think many of us expect them to then this should be a rather interesting game with no blown leads and no double digit leads for Orlando.
Let us go back in time to the span of well a day ago to discuss how the Orlando basketball team stormed back from a first quarter deficit that was at 21 points and came back to beat the 76ers 119-109 in Philadelphia on Monday. They may not be the best team, but Orlando is as pesky as it can get right now. Paolo Banchero Finished with 29 points and nine rebounds on 11 of 22 shooting and Orlando won the game despite shooting just 42% from the floor and making only 11 of 29 from 3 point range. Orlando also knocked down its free throws by only missing six of the 30 attempts they had.
“They are learning from experiences,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “They are finding ways to bounce back and believe in each other and understand that it’s got to start on the defensive side of the ball.”
Orlando at 20-31 on the season, has racked up some impressive wins over the likes of New Orleans, Indiana, Boston, and now Philadelphia. They may not make the playoffs this year but they are absolutely going to be one of the peskier teams late in the season that could really play spoiler to a team that desperately wants to make the playoffs
“We are a very good team,” Banchero said. “We just have to learn how to put this effort out every night. We have to be able to take this game and take it to the next game and the game after that no matter who the opponent is.”
“We just wanted to challenge them and turn the heat up,” Banchero said. “We weren’t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. You’re not going to stop Embiid, you just have to challenge him and make it difficult on him and we did a good job.”
The 76ers are also a very good team and that is why they will be playing into April and May when the when the season is settled. Philadelphia shot 47% from the floor and yet failed to prevent that Orlando. Joel Embiid finished with 30 points and 11 rebounds, While Tobias Harris and James Harden each had 17 points on a combined 12 of 29 shooting.
“I don’t think we played with any pace,”76ers coach Doc Rivers said. “Their pressure, their physicality ... they got into us. We turned the ball over. We were flopping to try to draw fouls. We just turned it off and couldn’t get it back.”
Prediction
Unless Orlando does not find a way to sweep this weekend series, this has all the makings of Philadelphia going in and winning this game. They need the revenge more than Orlando needs a back-to-back set of wins over Orlando. 76ers 120, Magic 110
Betting trends
Magic are 25-17 ATS as an underdog this season.
Magic are 11-3 ATS off an upset win this season.
76ers are 13-4 ATS when playing 6 games or less in 14 days this season.
76ers are 12-4 ATS when revenging a loss to an opponent this season.
Projected starting lineup
Magic:
PG: Markelle Fultz
SG: Gary Harris
SF: Franz Wagner
PF: Paolo Banchero
C: Wendell Carter Jr.
76ers:
PG: James Harden
SG: De'Anthony Melton
SF: Tobias Harris
PF: P.J. Tucker
C: Joel Embiid
Injury report
Magic: Wendell Carter Jr. (foot, questionable)
76ers: Joel Embiid (foot, questionable)
Statistical leaders
Magic:
Points: Paolo Banchero -- 20.7
Rebounds: Wendell Carter Jr. -- 8.6
Assists: Markelle Fultz -- 5.7
76ers:
Points: Joel Embiid -- 33.6
Rebounds: Joel Embiid -- 10.0
Assists: James Harden -- 11.0
Don't miss our champion handicappers' free picks and expert basketball picks today. And if you enjoyed this Orlando Magic - Philadelphia 76ers prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our daily NBA projections and previews.
Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
