The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off one of their most impressive performances on the season after a Christmas Day win over the Milwaukee Bucks. It’s the type of win that can really give a team the confidence it needs to continue to push forward and carry with them to start a four-game road trip.
They take on a familiar face in Markelle Fultz and the Orlando Magic on Friday to start this trip. The Magic have not gotten off to the start some prognosticators expected out of them, but they are the current 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and they aren’t a slouch. Philadelphia will have to avoid an emotional letdown heading into this one.
With that said, it’s time for the complete guide to this matchup:
How to watch Sixers vs. Magic
- Date: Friday, December 27
- Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Amway Center Orlando, FL
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBATV
Injury Report
- Sixers: OUT: Matisse Thybulle(right knee sprain)
- Magic: Al-Farouq Aminu(torn right knee meniscus), Michael Carter-Williams(sprained left AC joint)
Storylines
Brown comes to a realization
With all of the new parts on the Sixers and the awkward fit, it means coach Brett Brown has to make an adjustment in his coaching style. Normally, Brown will allow Ben Simmons to be able to run the offense and not call any plays as it’s more of a hands-off approach to the offense. However, with this new team, Brown has realized that he has to get up and coach this team on that end.
“For me, the recognition that the called play environment, which isn’t really the way I want to coach, is needed at times,” said Brown “You’ve got to stand up and be like ‘Hey! Get Jo the ball or get somebody here’ when it’s just jailbreak and it’s open court on misses, I think we’re pretty good and Ben’s elite in open court.”
Embiid and Richardson working things out
As mentioned above, this is still a fairly new team. Despite it being past Christmas now, they still have not been able to get much playing time in together due to a variety of reasons. That means Joel Embiid is still getting used to new teammates, such as Josh Richardson. While playing with JJ Redick, Embiid played a certain style with him that involved a lot of dribble hand-offs while Richardson likes to run a lot of pick-and-roll. Embiid is still getting used to his new shooting guard.
“We’re still learning,” said the big man. “I’m still learning how to play with him, especially out of the pick-and-roll. He’s a guy that likes to cross back a lot and sometimes I’m caught off guard and he does it quite often so I’m still getting used to playing with him. It’s been great for us and he needs to keep doing whatever he’s been doing.”
Prediction
This is another test for the Sixers. While the Magic clearly are not on the same level as the Bucks, they do possess some talented players such as Nikola Vucevic, Jonathan Isaac, and Aaron Gordon who will give them some trouble. Philadelphia will also have to avoid an emotional letdown after the impressive win. They know what they’re capable of and now it’s just about finding that consistency. Just like on Christmas, this should be another big game for them as they rise to the challenge.
Pick: Sixers pull away late
Sixers vs. Magic season series
Game 1 November 13: 112-97 Magic
Game 2 December 27:
Game 3 April 5:
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