The NBA heats up on Wednesday night as the Philadelphia 76ers travel to take on the Orlando Magic in an Eastern Conference battle. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time and it will be televised regionally on Sun Sports. Currently the odds have the Magic favored by 2.5 points and the total is sitting at 178.5 points.
Free Analysis: The Orlando Magic come into tonight's game with some in-season revenge going for them against the 76ers. Philly topped Orlando 74-69 back on January 30 in a low-scoring affair. Although Dwight Howard is pursuing a trade from Orlando, the Magic are only 4.5 games back of the Miami Heat in the Southeast. A win tonight would help keep them in pursuit. Philly currently is in the top spot in the Atlantic and holds a four game lead over the Boston Celtics. Howard had headlines written about him following Saturday's 99-94 win in Milwaukee, telling Fox Sports Wisconsin that he wants to be the closer for Orlando (18-11) and that coach Stan Van Gundy needs to have confidence in him to finish off opponents. So, he goes from demanding a trade to wanting to be the closer for the Magic? "My point is I want to be the guy to carry the team," Howard said. "I don't think that's bad. That's something I want to be. I want to be the guy in the fourth quarter who carries the team. Not just score the ball, but make great plays." Back in the opening game between the two games, Howard led all scorers with 17 points in a game where both teams struggled offensively. Philly finished with season lows in points scored and field-goal percentage (37.5). Orlando was equally as bad, shooting just 33 percent and scored only nine third quarter points. The Magic are going to have to play considerably better than that as Philly has one of the best defenses in the game, yielding just 86.8 points per game. Louis Williams, who at 15.9 points per game is the leading scorer for the 76ers, actually comes off the bench. Williams had 23 on Monday night while Thaddeus Young scored 20 and Jrue Holiday added 19 as the core of the 76ers all had good games. Against the Magic two weeks ago, Andre Iguodala led the Sixers with 14 points, while Evan Turner tossed in 12 points. The loss in Philadelphia was the fourth in a row for the Magic, but they've won six of eight since with both defeats coming in overtime. Orlando hasn't been bad at home this season, winning 10 of their 16 games in Orlando. Philly, at 20-9 overall on the season, has been decent on the road, winning seven of their 11 games. That's not bad. Orlando has the worst free throw percentage in the league with just 65.6 percent (thanks to Howard) but they are leading the league in triples made per game at 10.
Free Pick: Orlando has had it's ups and downs this season, but they've won six of eight games and Howard seems to be focused. They're not too far away from Miami in the standings and they'll have to continue to play well to catch them. I think they're in a good spot here tonight. They're favored for a reason, even though Philadelphia has been a better team to date this season. Sometimes it's best not to out-think yourself and go with the right side. I think Orlando is that right side tonight.
Free Picks: Sixers at Magic BettingEmbarrasing loss revenge for Magic and Sixers are biggest surprise in NBA plus other factors NBA bettors need to know about Sixers at Magic (Wednesday, February 15, 2012) from Pregame.com - Including predictions from Bryan Leonard and analysis from host Marco D'Angelo.
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