The Philadelphia 76ers, fresh off their Friday night victory over the Charlotte Hornets, 108-98, travel to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers on Saturday night. As expected, the team will be without Joel Embiid, as the plan was for him not to play back-to-back games and even more with the broken sinus he sustained last week. The Cavaliers have been leading the NBA since the start of the season and have shown no signs of slowing down.
Sixers game information
Who: Philadelphia 76ers (9-16) at Cleveland Cavaliers (24-4)
When: 8 p.m. EST
Where: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse, Cleveland OH
Watch: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBA League Pass, Ball Sports Ohio
Latest on the Sixers
When Embiid left the team’s game against the Pacers last Friday with what would later be revealed as a sinus fracture, the team and its fans thought for sure they wouldn’t see the Sixers big man back any time soon. Yet, Friday night, Embiid was out on the floor leading his team.
Without Embiid against the Cavaliers, the team will need Paul George to step up as he did on Monday nights game against the Hornets where he and Tyrese Maxey combined for 73 points. Friday, George finished with just five points on 2-12 shooting, including 1-7 on his three-point attempts. Against a team like the Hornets, with Embiid playing, you might get away with a game like that but against the Cavaliers, that will not work at all.
The Sixers are without Embiid as well as star rookie Jared McCain, so they’re going to need Maxey, George and Kelly Oubre Jr. to play some of the best basketball of the season, if they’re going to have a chance to win the game. While their defense has been improving the team must shoot better than the 36% they did on three-pointers against the Hornets.
Latest on the Cavaliers
The Cavaliers have been rolling and are 7-1 since dropping straight games to the Atlanta Hawks at the end of November. The team’s only loss was to the Miami Heat on December 8th, and that game was closer than it looked. The team matched up evenly throughout the whole game, with the lone exception being the Heat, which took eight more foul shots.
The Cavs jumped out of the gate this season, and they haven’t looked back since. They feature a balanced attack with six players averaging double figures in season scoring. They’re led by Donovan Mitchell, who’s scoring 23.5 points per game, but he’s doing that while shooting a career-best 40.5% on his three-point attempts. While he’s their biggest name, the team isn’t a one-man show.
Darius Garland and Evan Mobley are also putting in 30 minutes per game, with Garland giving the team 20.1 points and Mobley 18.2 points per game. They are also shooting career highs from beyond the arc, as Garland is hitting at a 42.6% rate, and Mobley is shooting 39.7% for the year. Add in Jarrett Allen, Caris Levert, and Ty Jerome, and the team has depth, and they’re playing well together.
What to watch for tonight
While the Sixers sit just outside of the top ten in defensive rating, it may not help much tonight as the Cavaliers are seventh in the league in defense. The Cavs offense just happens to be the top offense in the league, while the Sixers rest just a few spots away from the very bottom.
Without Embiid and McCain, the Sixers will be leaning on Maxey and George to try to replicate their games from earlier in the week while asking Kelly Oubre Jr. to, once again, step up as the team has needed him. Andre Drummond and Guergshon Yabusele should see some good minutes against a smaller Cavaliers team, but neither will be able to keep pace with the Cava offense and could look to be in foul trouble early on.
Watch to see if Tyrese Maxey continues to improve his shooting and if Paul George can have a bounce back night after last nights horrible shooting. If you’re lucky you’ll get a few KJ Martin and Ricky Council IV highlights.
Prediction
Cavaliers 115 – Sixers 97
