Philadelphia 76ers at Orlando Magic 12/31/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-12-31 18:30:00 EDT
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic duke it out at the Amway Center on Thursday night.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been in decent form to start the season as they’ve won three of their first four games and they will be looking to stay hot after taking down the Raptors in a 100-93 home win on Tuesday. Joel Embiid led the team with 29 points, 16 rebounds and four assists, Tobias Harris added 26 points, 11 rebounds and three assists, Seth Curry scored 17 points while Ben Simmons racked up 11 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists. As a team, the 76ers shot just 38 percent from the field and eight of 31 from the 3-point line while committing 18 turnovers, but they hung in the contest after a slow start and won the game behind their defense as they held the Raptors to just 37 points in the second half.
Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic have been the surprise team of the league so far as they’re aiming for a fifth straight win to start the season after blowing past the Thunder in a 118-107 road win on Tuesday. Nikola Vucevic led the team with 28 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, Dwayne Bacon added 18 points, while Evan Fournier and Terrence Ross each scored 14 points. As a team, the Magic shot 51 percent from the field and seven of 22 from the 3-point line as they hung in a close contest, before pulling away behind their defense as they forced the Thunder into 20 turnovers which was the difference in the end.
Looking at the betting trends, the 76ers are 16-34-2 ATS in their last 52 road games, 9-19-1 ATS in their last 29 games against a team with a winning record and 1-3 ATS in their last five games following a win. The Magic are 5-12 ATS in their last 17 home games, 7-19-2 ATS in their last 28 games against a team with a winning record and 4-0-1 ATS in their last five games overall.
Head to head, the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall and the 76ers are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings in Orlando and the 76ers are 2-5 ATS in the last seven meetings overall.
The 76ers have had one hiccup so far this season, but they will be feeling good about their progress, especially with Joel Embiid playing without a minutes restriction against the Raptors on Tuesday. The Magic have yet to put a foot wrong in their first four games and they’re only giteming in confidence with Markelle Fultz looking better each game after they paid him in the offseason. It’s hard to split these two squads at the moment, but the 76ers are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings in Orlando, so I’m leaning towards the Magic with the points at home in this spot.
