PHILADELPHIA, PA — Coming into the night extremely shorthanded—again—without Joel Embiid, Paul George, Kyle Lowry, and Andre Drummond, Philadelphia had a tall task ahead of them as the Sixers would be facing the far larger, far more competitive—this season, Orlando Magic.
Jared McCain dazzles once again
The Sixers’ impressive young rookie was reinserted in the starting lineup after a couple of consecutive games coming off the pine. His response? Leading the team in scoring with 24 points.
Mixing in an impressive assortment of shots both inside and out, McCain showed off the offensive repertoire, including a couple of midrange step-backs, an improved floater game, and his trusty three-point shot.
He did have four uncharacteristic turnovers, but by and large, Jared McCain was among the top reasons Philadelphia was even in this game.
Coming up small
Ultimately, Philadelphia’s size disadvantage proved too difficult to overcome. Losing the rebounding battle 35-42, including 10-16 on the offensive boards, the Sixers struggled to overcome the Magic’s big bunch.
Philadelphia also came up short metaphorically, sinking just 57.9% of their shots from the foul line. That’s eight opportunities for points wasted in a game that was decided by three.
Philadelphia has been an average team from the line this season, but considering the many struggles the team has seen outside of what they can control, they cannot allow the line to negatively impact the end result.
Up next for the Sixers
More of the same for the Sixers as they will stay in Philadelphia for a Friday matchup against… Yes, once again, the Orlando Magic. One small difference between the two games is that Friday’s matchup is set to start at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m.
One hopefully difference, a far larger one, is the potential return of both Paul George and Joel Embiid. George should be back, barring anything unforeseen. Embiid is a far trickier situation, and head coach Nick Nurse was mum on the situation pregame. More should be known ahead of Friday.
