Magic vs. 76ers NBA Play-in Tournament Picks April 15th

Magic vs. 76ers NBA Play-in Tournament Picks April 15th

The Eastern Conference NBA Play-in Tournament will continue on Wednesday night after Charlotte beat Miami in an overtime thriller on Tuesday, as the Hornets kept their season alive and eliminated the Heat. Now the No. 7 seed is at stake, with the Philadelphia 76ers hosting the Orlando Magic. The winner will meet Boston in round one of the playoffs; the loser will host Charlotte in a win-or-go-home battle for the No. 8 seed. With tipoff set for 7:30 PM ET on Prime Video, it’s time to break down the odds and discuss the best bets to make.

Magic vs 76ers Predictions 

Pick #1: Philadelphia 76ers -2 over Orlando Magic (-108) 

Pick #2: Under 222.5 (-115) 

Pick #3: Tyrese Maxey under 2.5 three-pointers made (+102) 

PICK #1: 76ers -2 over Magic (-108)

It’s hard to have any confidence in Orlando these days based on its performance over the past couple of months. The Magic went 7-9 in their last 16 regular-season games, a stretch that included a loss to lowly Indiana and setbacks of 52 points against Toronto and 29 points to Atlanta. A loss to Boston in the regular-season finale was arguably even worse. With nothing at stake for the Celtics, they rested eight of their regulars – including Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. The Magic, on the other hand, were going all out in an effort to secure either an outright playoff spot in the form of the sixth seed or home-court advantage in this playoff matchup with the seventh seed. Instead, Orlando lost 113-108 to Boston’s makeshift lineup and thus finds itself on the road tonight.

The 76ers are without Joel Embiid (appendectomy), but playing without him is nothing new. They at least have Paul George healthy, which is a somewhat rare occurrence. George, Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and others are capable of picking up the slack left by Embiid’s absence. The Sixers are 3-1 against the spread in their last four at home and 7-3 ATS in their last 10 against the Magic. 

PICK #2: Under 222.5 (-115)

The 76ers are obviously much less dangerous offensively than they would be with Embiid on the court. In its last five games of the regular season, Philadelphia scored more than 105 points only once. Fortunately for Philly, Orlando is coming off an anemic offensive effort against the Celtics in which the visitors shot 40 percent from the floor and 28 percent from three-point range. Outside of Jalen Suggs, the rest of the roster was 5-for-28 from downtown. It’s also worth noting that neither side plays especially fast. Orlando was 12th in the NBA in pace of play at 104.3 possessions per game during the regular season; Philadelphia was right behind at No. 13 (104.2 possessions). The under is 3-0 in Orlando’s last three on the road, 5-1 in Philadelphia’s last six overall and 5-2 in the last seven head-to-head encounters. 

PICK #3: Tyrese Maxey under 2.5 three-pointers made (+102)

The Magic gave up the third-fewest threes in the association (12.1 per contest) over the course of 82 games and ranked No. 11 in three-point percentage defense (35.3). Unsurprisingly, they have done a nice job of putting the clamps down on Maxey at the perimeter. In three matchups between the two teams, Maxey averaged fewer than three triples per game while shooting only 33.3 percent from deep. The Kentucky product has not been hot of late, either. He has been kept below his season scoring average in eight of the last nine games. In the last eight outings, he has made more than two three-pointers just once. Maxey is 3-for-15 on his threes over the past two games and is shooting just 31.0 percent from the land of plenty in April.