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Season series: Tonight in Orlando; December 4 in Philadelphia; December 6 in Philadelphia; Jan. 12 in Orlando

Our record: 10-3/6-7 ATS

The Orlando Magic can consider this homestand a success regardless of what happens in the final game on Friday against the Philadelphia 76ers. The team has steadied the ship and won four times in a row. Regardless of the opponent, that’s what the team needed.

The victory over the Indiana Pacers was big and important. The Philadelphia 76ers don’t have the record that would impress anyone, but they do have the star power. And while Joel Embiid is still working on getting himself back into shape and getting back into action, he’s still Joel Embiid. He’s still a handful.

And his presence could take away from the Magic’s main way of scoring, given their poor shooting performance in general. Orlando needs to get to the paint, and that could mean confronting Embiid and his interior presence — or involving him in plays to stretch his mobility on his shaky knee.

The Orlando Magic are coming off a couple of nice wins over the Indiana Pacers, but the team is still missing a win over a team that’s .500 or higher (0-3). The Philadelphia 76ers don’t count as that kind of team, but they have the star power that would be a nice achievement under their belt.

Still with inconsistent shooting, it feels like dealing with the Sixers could still be a tough challenge, even with their own shortcomings on offense.

3. It’s all about Embiid

A lot of what the Philadelphia 76ers are trying to do revolves around Joel Embiid. He is the central star of this solar system and taking him out of the lineup had a major impact on everything the 76ers do. Just look at their offensive performance: they rank 28th in the league in offensive rating with 106.9 points per 100 possessions and have failed to reach 100 points in three of their eleven games.

Embiid’s presence would change that. In his debut Tuesday, he was limited and rusty, scoring 13 points on 2-for-11 shooting overall. Embiid may still need some time to get back into shape after his knee injury. And he doesn’t have Tyrese Maxey right now to set things up for him and make things easier.

Still, Embiid is a big presence even when not at full strength. And he has torched the Orlando Magic in the recent past.

Embiid averaged 34.0 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game in two matchups with the Magic last year. Both ended up being blowouts, including that late-season loss that put the Sixers on the cusp of passing the Magic in the standings late in the season.

Embiid may be weak at this point and may need some time to prepare physically. But the Magic have always had trouble dealing with him. And this game will be a challenge in that regard.

2. Cook at home

If the Orlando Magic have one thing going for them, it’s that they have dominated at the Kia Center, going 6-0 so far this season.

It’s not just that they’ve won every game, including three straight victories by 25 or more points before Wednesday’s victory against the Indiana Pacers. It’s that they’ve been a completely different team.

The Magic have an offensive rating of 108.5 and a defensive rating of 104.3 this season. They have an effective field goal percentage of 50.9 percent on the entire season.

In their six home games, the Magic have a league-best offensive rating of 116.1 and a league-best defensive rating of 98.1. They have posted an effective field goal percentage of 54.7 percent.

That’s a night and day difference. And exactly what the Magic want.

1. NBA Cup action

The NBA Cup is back and the Orlando Magic are back at the top of the standings with their destiny in their own hands after beating the Charlotte Hornets by 25 points on Tuesday.

That gives the Magic a little cushion if they suffer a close loss in one of their final three group play games. Of course, the Magic want to win these games and take care of business themselves instead of leaving things to the final game of the NBA Cup against the New York Knicks.

The Magic’s game against the 76ers was one of the most important on the calendar. Orlando was expected to beat Charlotte. It was always going to be the games against the 76ers and Knicks that would determine whether the Magic would advance out of the group stage this season.

This is a tell-tale game in East Group A.