This is a 10* EASTERN-CONFERNECE NON-DIVISIONAL TOTAL OF THE YEAR on the OVER between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic.

These two teams have been out of the playoff hunt for a while now and neither has been lighting up the scoreboard much of late, but in my opinion the conditions are now finally right for a higher-scoring shootout. Orlando's new coach James Borrego has his team on the verge of a three-game win streak for the first time all year and has gotten the job done with a tougher defensive mentality. I'm not ready to believe that the Magic have turned the corner defensively though, sure they've been much better in the two games since Borrego took over, but that's obviously much too small a sample to make such a bold statement. Remember, Orlando allowed 102.3 points per game and 47.1 percent shooting in its 52 previous games. Philadelphia has lost eight straight on the road and is the league's lowest scoring team, but note that it did post the upset at Orlando on December 21st with a 96-88 victory. The 76ers made some recent roster moves, but note that Philadelphia has seen the total go OVER the number in three of five this year after playing three consecutive home games, while Orlando has seen the total sail above the posted number in 14 of 26 vs. teams with losing records this season and interestingly in 13 of its last 20 after a victory by ten points or more. These teams are filled with players that are essentially interviewing for a roster spot next year, there's plenty of motivation for each side to perform night in and night out and in my opinion, the situation, the numbers and the trends do all indeed point to the OVER as the savvy move in this contest.

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