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The Philadelphia 76ers (5-15) and Orlando Magic (15-9) each came off a back-to-back as they faced off at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night. The Sixers, without Joel Embiid and Paul George, put up another great fight. But they lost 106-102, letting another strong effort go to waste.
While Paolo Banchero (and Gary Harris) remained out for Orlando, George was ruled out as the Sixers continue their goal of reducing the chances that their veteran stars get overworked too early. One full back-to-back played may not be enough for that but George, after playing a season-high 37 minutes in yesterday's win over the Charlotte Hornets, was sidelined along with Embiid, Andre Drummond and Kyle Lowry.
The crux of this showdown was a battle of two young stars: Tyrese Maxey and Franz Wagner. The latter's supporting cast in this game is much deeper, though the forme's co-pilot (Jared McCain) was a greater threat than any of Wagner's active teammates — and he showed why.
Maxey vs. Wagner
The Magic had Jalen Suggs guard Maxey, then assigned Anthony Black when Suggs sat. The Philly star managed to set the offense up, assisting back-to-back Guerschon Yabusele buckets and setting up KJ Martin on the roll, though he didn’t get the assist because Martin missed his first chance. He was able to get into the paint to dish it and swish it, though his work outside there wasn’t very good.
Maxey made his mark here and there, coming up with some timely scores rather than consistently providing a stable scoring presence. He didn’t make a single triple, an indication of both his need to improve as a self-made three-point shooter and the Sixers' need to allow their catch-and-shoot weapon to get more of those looks.
Maxey's chance to tie the game in the final seconds resulted in a heave of a shot where he tried to draw a foul. He was, in fairness, hit on the arm. But the foul would probably have been on the floor anyway. And Maxey, who notched 16 points and six assists on 7-19 shooting, wasted his team's last chance on a failed attempt to get to the foul line.
The 76ers put Oubre on Wagner to start but put KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV on him in the fourth quarter. The Orlando star got his pocket picked early on but recovered to block Oubre's layup, though a trailing Maxey swooped in to score on the second chance. He was the first option to set the table for the Magic's offense but made himself an off-ball threat, too, throwing down a dunk off a great backdoor cut. In the first quarter, he tallied 11 of his team's 34 points.
Wagner's balance as he weaved through the Sixers' defense saved the Magic's offense from collapse at times. Just like Maxey, his three-point shooting was substandard. Inside the arc, he was nearly automatic. He ended the night with 35 points.
McCain fights off the size disadvantage
The Magic coming into pretty much every game with a size advantage. Even without Banchero, they have so many solid big men who can play together on top of bigger, stronger wings like Wagner. The 76ers are on the opposite end of the size spectrum, leading to some very predictable results.
Jonathan Isaac pulverized the 76ers on the glass, giving the Magic plenty of easy buckets. Rookie forward Tristan da Silva wasn’t met by any major paint protector when he drove in transition for a smooth layup. The Sixers got them back for their own OREBs a few times but it certainly didn’t help conceding so many to end the first quarter, which left them in a deficit as big as 15. Isaac and the rest of his big, athletic teammates got plenty of boards on that end.
McCain, however, was not daunted by the jumbo-sized lineup facing him and his team. He flashed the skill to overcome the Magic's size, floating the ball off the glass before Isaac could swat it as part of the nine points he was responsible for (as a scorer and passer) in under 90 seconds. McCain didn’t have much of a shot of finishing over the trees but he could carve out enough space to find his way through the forest.
It’s equal parts impressive and somewhat worrisome that the rookie was the Sixers' best creator against the tough Magic defense by a long shot. He not only shot the ball well but created those good looks himself. Maxey shot 4-10 in the first half, which was fine, but his shot quality wasn’t as good as McCain's was. S
ome of that is surely because he was more of a focal point on the scouting report but it's not like McCain didn’t also face tough defenders. He had to go against Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the ball as well as the same off-ball demons. It hardly mattered. He ended his night with 24 points on 10-17 shooting.
Maybe McCain — who did all he did tonight while talking a dumpster’s worth of trash to anyone on the Magic who would listen — should remain a starter no matter who's in and out for the Sixers.
Hints of ball movement
SHOCKING: the 76ers' offense looked so much better when the ball and the players moved. They didn’t have a ton of possessions just like the one below, which the '86 Boston Celtics and '15 San Antonio Spurs would appreciate, but their offense wasn’t repugnantly stagnant for long stretches. Progess!
The 76ers' lack of playmaking has been well-chronicled but that doesn’t mean that don’t have any chance of igniting ball movement and featuring good passes in their offense, which concluded the game with 23 assists, a mark above its season average.
McCain's sense for relocation and spacing around the arc does great things. KJ Martin almost always makes a quick decision with the ball and is often moving. Oubre earned some hard closeouts and put pressure on the Magic defense by driving hard and keeping his head up to dish it off. Anytime Council gets downhill, something can happen. In this game, these strengths appeared harmoniously.
The 76ers certainly benefited from a strong shooting night but that’s partly because they got efficient looks. They got open looks from deep which helped them narrow the deficit in the fourth quarter. Had they not been bleeding on the defensive glass, they could have gotten even much earlier.
The Sixers didn’t score a bunch of fast-break points but they did get up the court often, making the most of their takeaways. They didn’t shoot that greatly on shots at the rim but otherwise were efficient. This performance on offense features plenty of positives to build on, though it also requires Maxey to avoid such a down night.
The 76ers and Magic will play again in South Philadelphia on Friday night. Nick Nurse said before the game that there's a chance Embiid will play.
