The longest winning streak in the NBA is expected to continue on Friday night.

The Philadelphia 76ers are a 7.5 point favorite over the Orlando Magic in what amounts to a must-win game to avoid the play-in round.

I’m very much not a math guy and I don’t want to send your heads spiraling into tiebreaker talk on a Friday, so let’s keep it very simple here.

The Sixers need to win to be alive for the No. 6 seed come Sunday. The Magic are the team they have the best chance of jumping in the play-in race. The Indiana Pacers own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Sixers, so they would have to go 0-2 and the Sixers would have to 2-0 for any chance of jumping them.

The other element of this is the Milwaukee Bucks, who play the Magic on Sunday. I would root for the Oklahoma City Thunder to beat the Bucks on Friday so Doc Rivers’ team has something tangible to play for on Sunday. The Bucks just beat the Magic by 18 points on Wednesday.

That brings us back to Friday’s game at the Wells Fargo Center.

Orlando lost three of its last four games. The defeats came against the Bucks, Houston Rockets (yikes!), and Charlotte Hornets (even bigger yikes!).

The Magic are young and have a lot of potential, but that usually doesn’t get you anywhere after April in the NBA, as we’ll probably see in south Philadelphia on Friday night.

The Sixers beat Orlando by a combined 35 points in their two previous regular-season meetings. Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey combined for 68 points in the January 19th win. Maxey was one of three Sixers to eclipse the 20-point mark in the December 27 victory without Embiid.

Embiid scored 37 and 30 points and recorded 11 and 12 rebounds in his last two games. Most New Jersey sportsbook apps and Pennsylvania sports betting apps list his props at over/under 30.5 points and 10.5 rebounds.

I would be stunned if Embiid doesn’t hit the over on both props. A blowout is the only way the unders hit.

No other Sixers props are listed as of publication because of all the questionable statuses on the injury report. I would look at Maxey’s points and assists props when they are released. Maxey scored more than 25 points in four of the last six games and has at least five assists in each of the last five games.

As for the Magic, Paolo Banchero comes into Friday with five straight 20-point performances, but he was held under 20 points in both meetings against the Sixers this season. His point prop sits at 22.5.

Jalen Suggs might be the best Magic player to bet on for props. He scored 20 and 16 points against the Sixers this season and his point prop sits at 11.5. Suggs scored 18, 21 and 19 points in his last three games.

If you want a fun fact to impress your friends at the bar, Orlando and Philadelphia are two of the three best teams against the spread in the NBA. This is only the fifth game all season that the Magic have been an underdog of more than seven points. They are 2-2 ATS in those games. The Sixers are 15-7 as a favorite of 7.5 points or more.