Winners of three straight and five of seven, the Cavs take on the Philadelphia 76ers at their house. The Sixers are 10-3 but are missing starting SG Kelly Oubre, who averages 16.3 points in 29 minutes per game. The Sixers are 6-1 when Oubre plays and 4-2 when he doesn't.
For the second game in a row the Cavs will be playing an elite team with one starter out. They hammered Denver without Jamal Murray; now they get the 76ers without Oubre. For the Cavs its a game time decision for Mitchell, LeVert, and Okoro.
The Sixers have the second best record in the NBA, trailing only Boston's 11-2. Philly has split with Boston, beating them with Oubre and losing without him, both games being in Philly.
Joel Embiid leads the Sixers with a line of 32/11/6, shooting 50% from the field but just 31% on 3's. Jarrett Allen is coming off a game where he held Nicola Jokic below 20 points for the first time this year and got him in foul trouble.
With James Harden moving on Tyrese Maxey has emerged as an impact scorer in his fourth season, averaging 26.9 ppg. His first three years he averaged 8.0, 17.5, and 20.3, so he is really coming on. Maxey is shooting 48.1% overall and 43.3% on 3's. His assist numbers have jumped as well; he's averaging 6.8 assists against a career average of 3.5. He's playing over 38 minutes per game and averaging just 1.5 turnovers in addition to the points and assists. He's clearly having an All-Star season and had a 50-point game recently.
The Sixers have a top-heavy scoring team. After Embiid and Maxey's combined 59 points per game, Tobias Harris averages 20.3 ppg, Oubre 16.3 and De'Anthony Melton 11.1. Nobody else averages more than 7.0. With Oubre out they are temporarily down to four scorers, probably only three since Melton's only averages 11.1.
As a team the Sixers are hitting just 29.5% of their 3-point shots. Take away Oubre's 38% and it's even lower. Obviously the Cavs' defensive strategy should be to force Embiid to give up the ball and let Philly's very weak 3-point shooters take most of the shots.
The Sixers are making over 86% of their free throws so it doesn't pay to foul them.
The Sixers are 3rd in scoring (120.5) and 4th in points in the paint. They lead the league in fastbreak points at 19 per game, so the Cavs need to get back on D. They are 27th in percentage of points from 3's, so they love to fastbreak and attack the rim but don't shoot that many from deep. With Allen, Mobley, and Wade defending the rim I think the Cavs match up well with teams that like to take it inside.
The Sixers are 7th in offensive rebound percentage while the Cavs are 19th in defensive rebound percentage, which is an improvement over earlier in the season. Limiting them to one shot most of the time will be huge.
The Sixers are 6th in block percentage and 9th in steals per play so the Cavs need to protect the ball and watch out for Embiid in the lane. Overall the Sixers are 13th points allowed per game so their defense about average, but they are good at steals and shot blocking.
Philadelphia protects the ball very well, ranking 5th in turnovers per possession. You have to make them miss the shot and then secure the rebound.
The Sixers are 6-1 against teams below .500 and 4-2 against .500 and above.
This will be a tough matchup but Joel Embiid makes the Sixers go and Jarrett Allen did a fantastic job defensively on Jokic last game, so if he has another great game the Cavs have a good shot at pulling out a win, especially with Oubre out. If Mitchell and LeVert can play the Cavs have an even better chance. The game is on TNT.
Injury report
Cleveland:
Ty Jerome — OUT (Right Ankle Sprain)
Donovan Mitchell — OUT (Right Hamstring Strain)
Isaac Okoro — OUT (Left Knee Injury Management)
Ricky Rubio — OUT (Not With Team)
Caris LeVert — QUESTIONABLE (KNEE)
Philadelphia
Kelly Oubre — OUT (Ribs)