Bet the 76ers to cover as favorites in pivotal game vs Magic on Friday

The Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic face off Friday in their second to last respective regular season games of the season. Stakes are incredibly high as the Magic and Indiana Pacers are just one game up on the 76ers for the last two guaranteed playoff berths.

NBA betting sites have the hosting 76ers as -7.5 point favorites on BetMGM (-110 odds). With Joel Embiid giving this team a renewed spark since his return, I’m with the oddsmakers on this one and am riding them to cover in a big time win.

I’ll start where I usually like to start, which is with the injury report. Orlando could be without Franz Wagner (19.6 points per game), who is questionable with an ankle injury after missing their last couple of games. As for the 76ers, they’re finally healthy with Embiid back.

These teams have trended in opposite directions as of late. The Magic have dropped three of their last four to the likes of the Hornets, Rockets, and Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo. Meanwhile, the 76ers are on a six game winning streak.

If Wagner doesn’t play, the honus to score falls even more on Paolo Banchero’s shoulders. Despite Banchero’s excellence, I’m concerned how the league’s sixth lowest scoring team is supposed to keep up scoring with a healthy 76ers squad if Wagner doesn’t play.

In addition to not being a high scoring offense in general, the Magic make the least amount of threes per game in the league. They’re also one of the worst free throw shooting teams and could be without Wagner’s 84.5 percent shooting from the line.

Despite my concerns over Embiid coming back too soon, he averaged 30 points per game on 45 percent shooting from three in his last four games. Tyrese Maxey has also averaged 32 points per game while averaging 7.7 assists.

The 76ers haven’t experienced as good health as the Magic, which plays a role in some of their season-long numbers not being as strong as you might think. But this is a team loaded with elite shooters and experienced players who play well together.

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In their last six wins, the 76ers have averaged 120.3 points per game. At full strength, this team can hang with any playoff contender. With or without Wagner, I don’t see the Magic being able to hang offensively as they didn’t in two prior meetings with the 76ers.

Philadelphia won both games this season by 20 and 15 points. I like the 76ers more than the Magic in three point shooting, iso scoring, and free throw shooting, which are three of the most important things to be good at in basketball.

Defensively is an area the Magic can slow the 76ers down, as I see this game being lower scoring. I don’t think this game finishes with fewer than 211.5 points, but I think some key defensive stops will still be important in this game.

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