Back the Sixers as road favorites against Magic in Friday night’s matchup in Orlando

The 76ers will try to extend their winning streak to four games when they visit the Magic on Friday night.

Philadelphia is coming off an impressive 126-121 victory over the defending champion Denver Nuggets. Joel Embiid continued his torrid scoring with a second-straight 41-point effort. The reigning MVP has scored 30 or more points in 18 straight games.

This will be the teams’ second meeting this season, with the previous one also taking place in Orlando. Philadelphia won that matchup convincingly, handing the Magic a 112-92 defeat despite Embiid missing the game.

And with Embiid set to be back in the lineup for Friday’s matchup, it’s tough to envision a different outcome for the Magic in the rematch.

Embiid’s numbers are up across the board, whether it’s scoring (33.1 to 35.1), rebounding (10.2 to 11.6), assists (4.2 to 6.1) or blocks (1.7 to 1.9).

His usage rate is also up from 37% to 38.2%.

The  76ers’ offense has transformed under their new head coach Nick Nurse. They’re playing at a much quicker tempo despite running much of the offense through a 7-foot center.

Per TeamRankings, Philadelphia’s gone from 28th in pace (100.4 possessions per game) to 14th (103.3).

Although, it certainly helps not to have James Harden with the team, as he can be guilty of repeatedly pounding the ball into oblivion on the hardwood court.

Nonetheless, Nurse has put his trust in his center, and the team has followed suit.

Embiid’s ability to command double and triple teams while still being able to distribute and find the open man makes the 76ers all the more dangerous.

The 76ers waste little time getting their big man going, as he often puts up huge numbers early in these games.

Following a recent game against the Rockets, Suns’ forward Kevin Durant tweeted that Embiid needed only three quarters to reach the 30-point mark, and the 76ers clarified that it took the center only 26 minutes to reach the milestone.

Hence, getting off to these fast starts has become a regular occurrence for the 76ers.

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After jumping out to a 16-7 start, Orlando is just 6-12 over its last 18 games. The Magic’s offensive struggles have been laid bare, considering their rating is down from 113.8 to 109.8 during that 18-game stretch.

Orlando’s defense remains its strong suit, ranking second in efficiency, allowing 107.8 points per 100 possessions.

However, while the Magic do a tremendous job defending the perimeter, ranking fifth in 3-point field goals allowed (11.6 per game), it ranks 15th in opponent points in the paint (49.6 per game).

In the earlier meeting against the 76ers (without Embiid), Philadelphia outscored Orlando, 58-40, inside the paint. Thus, seeing those numbers improve with Embiid on the floor is difficult.

Orlando doesn’t play with a true center, as Goga Bitadze is more of a forward at 6-foot-10. The Magic will also be without forward Franz Wagner on the interior because of an ankle injury.

For a team already lacking in size, losing Wagner is a big blow, given that he’s Orlando’s second-leading scorer (20.9 points per game).

Wagner’s absence could lead to another big performance for Embiid.

There are a lot of options you can take if you like the 76ers in this game. An easy case could be made to back the 76ers or even target Embiid in the player props market.

Initially, I considered a first-half play, laying 2.5 points with the visitors. However, our Action Labs database shows that backing Philadelphia for the whole game has been even more profitable: 26-13 against the spread (ATS) vs. 22-17.

Moreover, the 76ers are a league-best 21-7 ATS (12.13 units) as a favorite.

Thus, the 76ers aren’t likely to play down to their opponent. Their +8-point differential is the third-best in the league, proving they can win by margin.

After shopping around, you can grab the 76ers laying five points at Caesars, which has the best price on the board.

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