Sixers vs. Magic Preview: Sixers look to make it three wins in a row

The Philadelphia 76ers start a three-game road trip with the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers have answered their three-game losing streak with back-to-back wins at home and now will head back out on the road on Wednesday. The Sixers were able to squeak out a 98-97 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night despite a poor shooting night and they will look to keep the momentum going on the road.

The Orlando Magic have had an underwhelming start to the season; they are off to a 3-7 start after making a playoff appearance in the 2018-19 season. Coach Steve Clifford has made the change to put former Sixers No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz into the starting lineup. It will be Fultz’s first regular-season matchup with his old team after a preseason game in October.

It’s now time to break down the Sixers and the Magic with a game preview that includes the works:

How to watch Sixers vs. Magic

  • Date: Wednesday, November 13
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Amway Center Orlando, FL
  • TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Injury report

  • Sixers: NOT YET SUBMITTED
  • Magic: NONE

Storylines

Shooting woes

The biggest fear surrounding the Sixers has come to life. They had a rough night shooting the ball on Tuesday, going 8-for-38 from 3-point range. But they showed resilience, not only in winning the game but that they can win in other ways when shooting is cold, with Josh Richardson explaining:

I mean, we play hard. That’s all you can really say about it. Guys were showing a lot of toughness down the stretch even when things weren’t falling for us. It’s going to be plenty of nights like that. Like this is not going to be the last night where we have a tough night shooting, so you’ve just got to learn how to fight through it.

Tough Tobias

Tobias Harris had the worst shooting night of everybody — going a dreadful 0-for-11 from deep on Tuesday. Coach Brett Brown revealed that he was playing with a stomach virus that limited his energy and focus.

Despite all of that, Harris made some big plays down the stretch to help Philadelphia to a win. It earned him the praise of his teammates, with Richardson stating:

Tobias is a tough guy. He’s hard to shake. He’s hard to fluster and he was vocal the whole game and he kept shooting. I commend him for that. I was telling him to stay aggressive and to shoot his shots so I’m proud of him for fighting through that.

Prediction

The Magic have had a rough go of it, but they are a talented bunch. All-Star Nikola Vucevic has given Joel Embiid some issues in the past and Evan Fournier is always a threat to get hot from deep. Jonathan Isaac is one of the serious up-and-coming players in the league and Aaron Gordon is versatile. It will take a lot from the Sixers, who will get a boost with the return of Al Horford, to come back on the second night of a back-to-back and get a win. It will be a nice test for them.

Pick:Sixers win in another close game.

Sixers vs. Magic season series

Game 1 (Nov. 13):

Game 2 (Dec. 27):

Game 3 (April 5): 

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