76ers

The Sixers are now just 2.5 games behind Boston for the Eastern Conference lead heading into Monday night's home game against the Orlando Magic. Philadelphia ...

And we recommend doing so quickly, because if Embiid (and/or other Sixers starters) don’t suit up, the number is going to drop. The [Philadelphia Union](https://www.inquirer.com/soccer/) made it to the MLS Cup. [Philadelphia Phillies](https://www.inquirer.com/phillies/) made it to the World Series. However, prior to getting blown out by Chicago as a 2.5-point underdog, they had been on a 7-1 ATS roll (6-1 ATS as an underdog). Well, Philly is 8-2 ATS during its 10-game SU winning streak against Orlando — including wins of 107-99 and 133-103 in Florida on Nov. Similarly, the 76ers haven’t been profitable when laying significant points this season. Even if he does play, there’s no guarantee that the Sixers will cover this large point spread. Throw in the fact that the Magic are 12 games under .500, and of course the Sixers are massive favorites in the first of two straight home games against Orlando. Embiid was absolutely spectacular in Saturday against Denver. Philadelphia owns a 10-game overall winning streak against Orlando and has won eight in a row at home in the rivalry. [Best Sports Betting Apps](https://www.inquirer.com/sports/betting/sportsbooks/best-sports-betting-apps.html) With that, Philadelphia improved to 20-4 in its last 24 games, including an ongoing seven-game winning streak.

Joel Embiid is on the injury report for Monday's game.

They are 4-6 in their last ten games and in the middle of a two-game losing streak. Surprisingly, they are only 4.5 games behind the Washington Wizards and Chicago Bulls (who are tied for the ninth seed), so they are still in contention to make the play-in tournament. As for the Magic, they are the 13th seed in the east with a 19-31 record in 50 games. Over the last ten games, the 76ers have gone 9-1, and they are the second seed in the Eastern Conference (2.5 games behind the Boston Celtics for first). They are 32-16 in 48 games and in the middle of a seven-game winning streak. In addition, the 76ers are one of the hottest teams in the league.

Paolo Banchero had 29 points and 10 rebounds as the Orlando Magic stormed back from a 21-point first-quarter deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 119-109.

The Sixers have the second-toughest remaining schedule and will play 17 games in March, including 11 on the road. “We weren’t doing that in the first half and gave them too many easy buckets. The 21-point deficit was the largest Orlando has overcome this season and the sixth-largest in franchise history. Orlando went ahead for the first time on a 3-pointer by Gary Harris in the third quarter. 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.” But he also led the Sixers in turnovers with six, got into foul trouble in the fourth quarter and was visibly frustrated by Orlando’s physical defense.

Facing one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference in back-to-back road games is a tough task, but one the Orlando Magic are extremely familiar with.

Two additional areas of concern are Philadelphia’s ability to generate points off turnovers – their 19.0 points per game in that category rank third in the association – and their 3-point shooting. KEY STAT: Against the Chicago Bulls, center Moe Wagner fired off 16 straight Magic points to help Orlando cut a 25-point deficit down to five. the Washington Wizards and Tracy McGrady on Feb. The most is 20, set by Terrence Ross on Jan. Not putting any extra pressure on myself or anything like that, but definitely a lot of excitement to just go out there and play in front of these fans on the opposite side.” – Markelle Fultz on playing in Philadelphia If his numbers hold, Embiid will be the first player since 1974-75 to average at least 33 points and 10 rebounds in a season. So, I think that’s really good for him to be on this trip.” “I think we had a film session for the first time with everybody in the room, which was awesome. The 10-time NBA All-Star is averaging 21.4 points to go along with an astounding 11.2 dimes per contest. Can we take the experience of the last couple of games of us not necessarily taking care of the basketball the way we would have liked to and can we put that into play tonight. The Magic are all too familiar with the true depth of this Sixers squad. Even without the three aforementioned threats, the Sixers earned two triumphs by a combined 38 points.

The Orlando Magic (19-31) play against the Philadelphia 76ers (32-16) at Wells Fargo Center Live Stream: fuboTV (Watch for free) NBA League Pass: The most ...

[@NJMIns](https://twitter.com/NJMIns) [nba.com/sixers/news/76…](https://t.co/mMunq3kxyf). [@Draymond Green](https://twitter.com/Money23Green)magic? [@Frank Isola](https://twitter.com/TheFrankIsola)and [@Brian Scalabrine](https://twitter.com/Scalabrine)discuss the big performance from Joel Embiid against the Nuggets. [@Danny Leroux](https://twitter.com/DannyLeroux)! [@Nate Duncan](https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA)! – [1:33 PM](https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620127987340578816) [StatMuse](https://twitter.com/statmuse)@ [statmuse](https://twitter.com/statmuse) [pic.twitter.com/va5OOpABVY](https://t.co/va5OOpABVY)– [2:01 PM](https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620135130105782280) [Danny Leroux](https://twitter.com/DannyLeroux)@ [DannyLeroux](https://twitter.com/DannyLeroux) They’re currently only over by $1.17M which eliminates them from getting a cut from the tax distribution fund (~$17M) and if they’re over the tax next year they’d be paying the Repeater Tax. [pic.twitter.com/m07G44x33v](https://t.co/m07G44x33v)– [6:35 PM](https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620204047193223172) [Philadelphia 76ers](https://twitter.com/sixers)@ [sixers](https://twitter.com/sixers) [pic.twitter.com/jlExDFJFrb](https://t.co/jlExDFJFrb)– [6:05 PM](https://twitter.com/sixers/status/1620196420249845760) [Nate Duncan](https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA)@ [NateDuncanNBA](https://twitter.com/NateDuncanNBA) The 76ers will likely make a cost-cutting move to get below the Tax by the deadline. I had thoughts on how to handle the first installment on my morning visit to @WagerTalk Today:

The NBA is filled with talent at the point guard. For the Philadelphia 76ers, it's James Harden leading the show. Where does he rank against the best?

Markelle Fultz returned from his ACL tear and quickly took control of the starting point guard role for the very promising Orlando Magic. The Sixers, meanwhile, are 32-16, good for the No. So, let’s rank them — starting with the point guard position.