76ers vs. Magic Wednesday NBA injury report, odds, props: Tyrese Maxey set at sky-high 29.5 points with Joel Embiid out
The Sixers will be without reigning MVP Joel Embiid on Wednesday in Orlando.
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The Philadelphia 76ers are 0-4 this season without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who might repeat and is on pace to win his third straight scoring title. No player has done that since Kevin Durant did so in 2011-12. However, Embiid will miss Wednesday's potential Eastern Conference playoff preview at the Orlando Magic, meaning the usage rate of his teammate, breakout star Tyrese Maxey, could be off the charts. Maxey is set a very high over/under point total of 29.5 at DraftKings. Philly is a 2-point underdog.
Embiid will miss a second straight game with a right ankle sprain. It's a shame, as he is utterly dominating right now with 13 straight games of at least 30 points and 13 rebounds, which is a franchise record. He leads the NBA in 30-point, 10-rebound games with 18, and in 30-point, 10-rebound, five-assist games with 13. In December, the 7-footer is averaging a league-best 40.2 points on 60.6% shooting from the field and 12.6 rebounds.
Paul Reed will start for Embiid again Wednesday. He's an Orlando native and earned Central Florida Player of the Year from the Orlando Sentinel in his senior high school season. Former Magic lottery pick Mo Bamba also will see more action behind Reed. Bamba had a season-high 18 points along with six rebounds over 25 minutes in Monday's loss to Miami.
The 23-year-old Maxey is averaging a career-high 25.9 points – no Sixers guard has averaged 25 points since Hall of Famer Allen Iverson did in 2006-07 -- but has averaged just 20.3 points along with 5.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds in three games without Embiid this season. Maxey's high point total in those three outings was 33 in a 10-point loss in New Orleans on Nov. 29 but otherwise didn't top 16 points in the other two. He scored a mere 12 points in a 119-113 loss in Miami without Embiid on Christmas. Maxey was a brutal 4-for-20 from the field.
Philadelphia also will be without forward Nic Batum for a fourth straight game Wednesday. Orlando will be missing point guard Markelle Fultz, a former No. 1 overall pick by the Sixers, after he also missed Tuesday's 127-119 win at Washington. Gary Harris, Joe Ingles and Jonathan Isaac are all questionable. Only Harris played Tuesday. Guard Jalen Suggs returned from a two-game absence due to a left wrist injury to score 11 points in 29 minutes.
Orlando is 2-3 in the second halves of back-to-backs this season, an improvement on last season's 1-11 mark. It's the first meeting between these teams after Philly won three of four in 2022-23. The 76ers have won 16 of the past 21 in the series.
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