The Philadelphia 76ers are enjoying their first winning streak of the season after finally stringing together two wins, but it will take a lot to extend that streak to three when they host the 15-8 Orlando Magic on Wednesday night.

This contest faces a difficult turn for both teams – the Sixers are less than 24 hours away from a win at the Charlotte Hornets and the Magic are less than 24 hours away from a lopsided loss at the New York Knicks. There are no excuses for traveling one behind the other here.

However, excuses aside, it is still too early to say what the lineups will look like, as a clash could affect the availability of experienced players like Paul George. Joel Embiid also hasn’t played since Nov. 20, and coach Nick Nurse wasn’t particularly confident about Wednesday’s move.

“We’ll check on Paul and see what his status is,” Nurse told reporters after Tuesday night’s game. “We’ll check on Joel too. I don’t really have an update for you. I don’t expect him to play (Wednesday), but I wouldn’t rule it out just yet.”

Team injury reports for the second consecutive game won’t be due until matchday afternoon, so I’ll stick with what we know at the moment. The Sixers will be without Andre Drummond (right ankle sprain), who will miss both tonight and Friday’s contests before being re-evaluated this weekend. The Magic will be without All-Star Paolo Banchero, who has been out since the end of October due to a torn right oblique muscle. We will provide you with more information on both teams’ injury reports as it becomes available later today.

Even without Banchero, the Magic are nothing to scoff at. When Banchero went down for the first time with his oblique injury in the fourth quarter on October 30, the Magic lost that contest and the next four games in a row. I know it’s hard for Sixers fans to imagine such a scenario, but it’s not easy to lose a player who averaged around 30 points a night. However, the tide has turned for the better for the Magic, as they have certainly found the answer to how to thrive when Banchero is sidelined, going 12-2 in five games since the loss.

The answer was “1.90 meters tall” Franz Wagner. The Magic are using Wagner in a different role than when he’s on the floor with Banchero, and it’s paying off. Orlando’s offense now runs entirely on Wagner instead of him just being a supplement. The 23-year-old is quickly becoming both an impressive three-level scorer and a damn good playmaker. He was great on defense, confident in difficult situations, and led this Magic team on an incredible run. In 16 games in November, Wagner averaged 25.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.0 steals per game. His size, skill and aggressiveness will be a major challenge for a Sixers team to overcome Drummond and probably Embiid had to take a break.

Even with Embiid in the lineup, Wagner was able to beat all of the Sixers in their last game on Nov. 15, recording a double-double with 31 points and 11 rebounds in Orlando’s 98-86 win over Philadelphia. Now, this game didn’t exactly show Embiid at his best, but it’s probably not the worst comparison considering the big guy would be playing his first game in two weeks tonight if he unexpectedly played. Guerschon Yabusele and Adem Bona have done a good job taking over the five-man team, but this will be their biggest challenge yet.

The Sixers and Magic kick off in South Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m.

Game details

WHO: Philadelphia 76ers vs. Orlando Magic

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA

Regard: NBC Sports Philadelphia

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Consequences: @LibertyBallers