Thursday night will see the Sixers return to action after their big win against conference rivals the Toronto Raptors. They face the only unbeaten team left in the NBA, the Orlando Magic. After battling through some serious shooting issues against the Raptors to come back and win the game, the Sixers will need to be at their best to end 2020.
Sixers heating up
Last time out, the Sixers had to rely heavily on an impressive performance from Tobias Harris and a usual carry from the main man Joel Embiid. However, the Sixers had some major issues in the game and it proved that it will take time for the Doc Rivers era to really take hold in Philly.
The Sixers really struggled with their shooting. The first half was dismal, with the best individual field goal percentage going into Q3 sitting at 38%. They also struggled massively with perimeter defense, as they allowed the Raptors way too many open threes, something they can’t afford to do tonight against an in-form Magic team.
It’s a kind of magic
The Orlando Magic have simply been unstoppable in their first 4 games of the season, beating the Miami Heat on opening night and then going on to beat the Wizards in back to back games. Last time out, the Magic beat the Thunder 118-107, with Nikola Vucevic dominating the game with 28 points and 10 rebounds.
Sixers Storyline to watch
The key storyline heading into this one is the return of former Sixer, and former first overall pick, Markelle Fultz. The Washington product had a horrid time in Philly where he just struggled with every aspect of the game, especially shooting, and the team moved on from him pretty quickly. He’s found his feet in Orlando, where he just secured a big-time extension, and is currently on form with averages of 18 points, 6 assists, and 4 rebounds this season. There’s a strong chance Fultz comes back to haunt the Sixers in this one.
Key matchups
However, for the Sixers, the focus shouldn’t just be proving that their decision to move on from Fultz pretty quickly was right. A key matchup, and in my opinion the most important one, will be Joel Embiid vs Nikola Vucevic. Both big men have found great form and success so far this season and both will have to be on top of their game tonight, if they want to win that battle and the game for their team.
There’ll also be an interesting battle between two rookies in this game as Cole Anthony and Tyrese Maxey will be going against each other, and that matchup is a huge chance for Maxey to prove that teams were naive to overlook him.
A recent history
The Magic are coming into this season’s series off the back of winning last season’s series 2-1 and the Sixers will want to right those wrongs and prove that they can hang with one of the Eastern Conference’s biggest threats at the start fo the year.
Game predictions:
As a prediction, I think the Sixers will take this one in a close battle that sees them win 118-113. I think Ben will really dominate in this one and I wouldn’t be surprised if he really pushes towards getting a triple-double. The Sixers will also be hoping that Embiid wins his key matchup against Vucevic, whilst Tobias Harris needs to keep his good start to season going to give the Sixers the best chance to win the game. If you’re looking for a bet, I’m sure PSN’s own Ricky Amandeo (@Ricky_amandeo8) will have you covered on Twitter!
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
