Sixers vs. Magic set

Philadelphia and Orlando meet Wednesday, April 15, in a 7:30 p.m. Eastern play-in game, with the winner taking the East’s No. 7 seed. (nba.com, si.com) The 76ers finished 43-36 and seventh in the Eastern Conference, while the Magic finished 45-37 and eighth. The loser is not out yet; it goes to a second play-in game Friday for the No. 8 seed. (basketball-reference.com, basketball-reference.com, si.com) If Philadelphia wins, it opens the first round against Boston as the No. 7 seed. If Orlando wins, the Magic get that Boston matchup and the 76ers drop into the final East play-in game. (si.com) The play-in is the National Basketball Association’s four-team qualifying round for seeds seven and eight in each conference. Teams that finish seventh and eighth get one chance to clinch; teams that finish ninth and 10th must win twice. (si.com) This matchup sits in that seventh-versus-eighth slot, so one team reaches the playoffs Wednesday night and one team keeps playing. The East’s ninth-place Charlotte Hornets and 10th-place Miami Heat already filled the other side of that bracket. (si.com) Philadelphia’s season has revolved around Tyrese Maxey’s scoring load. Maxey averaged 28.3 points and 6.6 assists in 70 games, while Joel Embiid averaged 26.9 points and 7.7 rebounds in 38 games. (statmuse.com, nba.com, statmuse.com) Paul George is part of the Philadelphia frame, but his regular-season workload was limited. He averaged 15.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 17 games this season. (statmuse.com) Orlando’s top line starts with Paolo Banchero, who averaged 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 68 games. Franz Wagner added 20.6 points in 33 games for a Magic team that posted the better record and the slightly better defensive rating. (statmuse.com, statmuse.com, basketball-reference.com) The regular season offered one blowout each way in Philadelphia. The 76ers beat Orlando 136-124 on October 27, and the Magic answered with a 144-103 win on November 25. (basketball-reference.com, basketball-reference.com) All six play-in games are on Prime Video under the league’s new media deal, according to Sports Illustrated’s schedule roundup. By the end of Wednesday night, one of these teams will be in Boston for Game 1 and the other will be staring at one more elimination game. (si.com)