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Wednesday's Fast Facts
- The Cavaliers won the first meeting of these two teams this year, 97-91, in a November 21 matchup in Cleveland.
- The Cavaliers are coming off a 99-89 win over the hapless New Jersey Nets, a game that should not have been as close as it was, considering the Nets are now 2-23 on the year, rank near or at the bottom of the league in many statistical categories, and that the Cavs led by as many as 15 points in the first half before allowing the Nets to tighten the gap.
- Likewise, the Philadelphia 76ers ended a 12-game losing streak with a 117-101 rout of the Golden State Warriors on Monday. They stand at 6-18 on the year.
- The Cavaliers, at 18-7, are a season-high 11 games over .500. They are 8-5 on the road. The 76ers are 4-8 at home.
- Philadelphia is missing two key players in its rotation: starting point guard Lou Williams and backup big man Marreese Speights. Williams will be out until at least February, late January at the earliest with a broken jaw. Speights should be able to return in 2-4 more weeks.
- In his first four games back in a 76ers uniform, Allen Iverson is averaging 15.5 ppg to go with 4.0 apg and 3.0 rpg. He has scored 20 points in each of the past two games, his season high.
- Andre Iguodala leads the 76ers in points (19.4), assists (5.6), and steals (2.04) per game.
- Allen Iverson did not practice on Tuesday due to a knee injury, and backup guard Willie Green is also battling a nagging knee injury. Both are expected to play on Wednesday night. Andre Iguodala hurt his left rib in Monday's game, and is listed as day to day. He was able to return to that game.
- Daniel Gibson made his return from a finger injury against New Jersey on Tuesday after missing the two previous games.
Keys to the Game
- Allen Iverson has traditionally been a Cavalier killer. He may be getting up there in age, and he has obviously lost a step or two, but he is still very much a capable scorer that the Cavs must account for.
- The Cavs need to control the pace of the game to their liking. The 76ers like to play a very up-tempo style of basketball.
- Keep the 76ers out of the paint. They don't have a whole lot of jumpshooting ability on that team and rely a lot on scoring in the paint and fastbreak opportunities to get their points.
- Keep Elton Brand in check. He had 18 points and 14 rebounds in the last meeting of these teams, although it is also worth mentioning that Shaq was out with a shoulder strain.
- DO NOT PLAY DOWN TO YOUR LEVEL OF COMPETITION!!! Far too often, the Cavs get burned when they play down to their level of competition. 5 of their 7 losses have come against sub-.500 teams, including very close losses to Chicago and Memphis and a blowout in Washington.
- Get off to a fast start. The Cavs lead the NBA in first quarter points per game. Come out of the gates firing on all cylinders and put this team away early.
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