The Sixers are at home for the tail end of a back-to-back having lost on Tuesday night to the New York Knicks. The team welcomed back Joel Embiid, and he naturally had some rust to his game. He’ll be hoping to further shake that off tonight.
Cavaliers vs Sixers game information
Who: Cleveland cavaliers (12-0) at Philadelphia 76ers (2-8)
When: 7:30 pm EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia PA
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, Bally Sports Ohio
Cavaliers vs Sixers betting information
Spread: Cavaliers -9.5 | Sixers +9.5
Moneyline: Cavaliers -420 | Sixers +330
Total: Over/Under 219
Latest on the Sixers
The Sixers are coming off a loss to the Knicks where they shot just 37.3% from the floor and 33.3% on their three-point attempts. Joel Embiid notched just 13 points and 3 rebounds in 26 minutes in his quiet season debut. ‘The Process’ said he wouldn’t be playing in back-to-backs for the rest of his career, yet head coach Nick Nurse said that they would decide if he plays after a morning evaluation of their star center.
Paul George, despite being injured in the eye on Sunday, played great last time out, scoring 29 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while shooting 10-19 from the floor, including 7-11 on his three points attempts. George looked to show no lingering issues from the eye injury suffered on Sunday. The Sixers will need a healthy and hot shooting George if they’re going to beat the Cavaliers.
Rookie Jared McCain continued his recent hot streak and Nurse has trusted him with extended minutes the past few games. McCain is averaging 22.7 points per game over his last three, while seeing 30 minutes per game on the floor. What’s more encouraging, McCain is shooting 45.1% from the floor and 40.7% on his three pointers over the three game span. The rookie has shown a fearlessness that can remind some of Tyrese Maxey‘s style of play. The Sixers seem to have found another gem along the lines of Maxey with McCain, hoping that he can keep it up as the season progresses.
Latest on the Cavaliers
The Cavs come in to Philadelphia undefeated on the season at 12-0, having just beaten the Bulls, 119-113 on Monday night. Despite the travel, the team will be rested and ready to take on a Sixers team that’s much less so.
Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland are leading the way for the Cavs, with Mitchell averaging 23.7 points per game and Garland averaging 20.2 points and 6.5 assists per game. The team also has Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, and Ty Jerome all averaging double digits in scoring while Allen is averaging 10.6 rebounds per game on the young season.
The Cavaliers have been storming through the league to start the season but haven’t been facing a lot of great opponents. A win over the western conference leading Warriors last Friday was their only victory over a team that has an above .500 record, while they’ve also defeated the Magic who currently sit at 6-6.
What the Cavaliers are doing is leading the league in scoring at 122.4 points per game, shooting at 52% as a team, and three-point shooting at 41.3% per game. They’re 6th in the league in assists and turnovers and 5th in steals. They’re toward the bottom of the league in rebounding but when you’re leading the league in shooting, there’s not many rebounds to go around.
What to watch for
If Embiid plays and gets up closer to 30 minutes, hopefully having shaken off the rust in his game against the Knicks, it could provide the Sixers with a real boost and give them a legitimate shot at beating the Cavaliers. Paul George and Jared McCain will have to be on their A-game, regardless of Embiid playing or not. The team is going to need Caleb Martin to have another good game as he did against the Knicks but players like Kelly Oubre Jr., Kyle Lowry, and Jeff Dowtin are going to have to do more than the 9 combined points that they had against the Knicks.
Geurshon Yabusele saw his minutes drop down to 19 in the game against the Knicks and it resulted in just 3 points and 8 rebounds for big man. He shot just 1-7 from the floor and 1-5 on three point attempts, something that absolutely can’t happen against a team like the Cavs.
If Embiid doesn’t play, the team will need a lot from Yabusele and Andre Drummond, who’s been having an up and down season to start but is still averaging 9.2 points and 10 rebounds per game. Drummond understands he was brought in to backup Embiid and couldn’t have anticipated being the starter for the first part of the season but the team will need a lot out of it’s two big men if they’re to survive the Cavaliers.
It all comes down to the availability of Embiid and George for tonights game. If they’re both a go, then the Sixers could squeeze out a win as they’re a much better team than their record indicates or how they showed against the Knicks. With Embiid, hopefully, playing in just his second game back and not seeing a lot of minutes, it doesn’t look good for the Sixers.
Prediction
Cavaliers 125 – Sixers 107
Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images
