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The Ides of March arrives and hopefully winter’s over and it’s all downhill to spring, baseball, the NFL draft, and the NBA playoffs.
After a sweep in Charlotte the Cavs catch a late flight home to engage the 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back. The 4th place Cavs trail the 3rd place Sixers by 3 games and will need a win to have any chance of finishing in third place. The Sixers had yesterday off so this will be a tough assignment.
The Sixers are 45-22 overall, 19-12 on the road, and have won five straight, including road wins over Milwaukee and Minnesota. They seem to be hitting on all cylinders right now. This will be a nationally televised game.
The Cavs and Sixers have played twice this season with the Cavs winning a laugher in Cleveland 113-85 in November and the Sixers winning 118-112 in Philly a month ago. In that game the Cavs were down by 28 in the 3rd quarter and clawed all the way back to a 4-point deficit with 1:30 to go, but the Sixers made their free throws and closed it out. Mitchell and Garland combined for 60 points but the Cavs’ bench only had 12. The Sixers were 13-for-27 on 3’s while the Cavs were 10-for-30 and that was the difference.
In November the Cavs were 15-for-29 on 3’s while the Sixers were 6-for-26. Seems like whoever dominates the 3-point shooting always wins.
In last month’s game the Cavs scored 38 points in the first half and 74 in the second. Donovan Mitchell says the Cavs figured out what they could do against the Sixers.
"I honestly think we just found things that worked…I don’t want to call it a sense of urgency, but I think we just played with a little more force. Realized we could get downhill, get open shots, make plays defensively…"
So I’m sure the Cavs will look at the second half film and take note of what worked and how they got “downhill”. It’s also possibly the Sixers lost some intensity after being up by 25 points at halftime.
The Cavs will have to play with "a little more force" because they will be without Jarrett Allen. However, they did not have him when they blew out the Sixers in November. Diakite started and was a +16 in 23 minutes and Embiid had only 19 points. Maybe the Cavs should bring Mama back for this game. LeVert, Okoro, and Osman combined for 42 points off the bench in that one. The bench will need to step up tonight for the Cavs to be competitive.
Joel Embiid leads the Sixers with 33 points and 10 rebounds per game at 54% overall and 35% on 3’s. Embiid is the worst 3-point shooter among their starters as the others are all between 38-41%. As a team the Sixers are 2nd in 3-point percentage at a shade under 39%. Job One when playing the Sixers is to defend their 3-point shooting.
James Harden has a line of 22/6/11 on 45% from the field. He leads the NBA in assists. PG Tyrese Maxey averages 20 points on 47% and 41%; PF Tobias Harris averages 15 points, and SG De’Anthony Melton averages 10. Shake Milton hits 40% of his 3’s off the bench.
The Sixers rank 4th in offensive efficiency but only 13th in scoring as they play the slowest pace in the league, ranking last in shots per game. The Cavs are 27th so these teams both like to walk it up and grind down the shot clock. This shapes up as a battle of half-court offenses where every possession is more important because there are fewer of them than usual. It's the NBA's version of sumo wrestling.
Despite having Mr. Embiid the Sixers rank 21st in points in the paint. They like to score from deep and from the foul line, where they lead the NBA in free throws made per game. Embiid and Harden combine to average 16 made free throws per game. The rest of the team combined averages 5. These established stars are experts at throwing themselves into the defender and the refs give them all the calls.
The Sixers’ only offensive weakness is rebounding where they rank 27th. They don’t see much point in crashing the offensive glass. If the Cavs can force a miss on the first shot they should be in good shape despite not having Allen.
Defensively the Sixers are 9th in efficiency. They are above average across the board, except that they don’t defend the rim well, ranking 25th in opponents’ shooting percentage at the rim. They’re 6th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so the Cavs might have more success attacking the rim than bombing from the outside.
After Embiid their starters are 6’7” (Harris), 6’5” (Tucker and Harden), 6’2” (Maxey). Jalen McDaniels, a 6’9” backup power forward, will probably miss the game. The Sixers are rather small other than at center, which suggests the Cavs should “play downhill” and attack the rim.
The website cleaningtheglass.com ranks the Sixers 1st in offense and 25th in defense over the last two weeks. Their average score per 100 possessions in those seven games is 132-121 and their record is 6-1. So despite ranking 9th in defensive efficiency on the season their defense has fallen off as of late. Indiana scored 143 against them last week (but still lost) and Milwaukee got 130 (also a loss). Dallas scored 133 and beat them. Their defense has been hot and cold lately. As previously noted, the Cavs scored 74 points in the second half the last time these teams played, so maybe they found some weaknesses to exploit.
Donovan Mitchell has had two days off so he should be ready to go. He’s averaging 25.5 points against the Sixers this year and hitting 50% from deep. Garland is averaging 24.0 points and is 6-for-7 on 3’s. For the Cavs to win this one Garland and Mitchell need to continue their hot shooting from behind the arc and the bench will need to contribute more than 12 points. If the Cavs can attack the rim effectively while DM and DG continue their success on the perimeter, the Cavs have a chance to score more than 113 and 112 this time.
Defensively the Cavs need to play tough perimeter defense and contest the 3-point shots. In the game the Sixers won they shot 48% from deep; in the game they lost it was 23%. Make the Sixers try to win on 2-point shots. With Allen out it will be harder defending the rim, however.
Mobley has to be very careful to avoid getting in foul trouble guarding Embiid. I’m sure Joel will go at him early to try and put him on the bench. The Cavs as a team need to stay out of foul trouble and keep the Sixers from shooting 25 or more free throws. No fouling the 3-point shooters, please.
After a sweep in Charlotte the Cavs catch a late flight home to engage the 76ers on the second night of a back-to-back. The 4th place Cavs trail the 3rd place Sixers by 3 games and will need a win to have any chance of finishing in third place. The Sixers had yesterday off so this will be a tough assignment.
The Sixers are 45-22 overall, 19-12 on the road, and have won five straight, including road wins over Milwaukee and Minnesota. They seem to be hitting on all cylinders right now. This will be a nationally televised game.
The Cavs and Sixers have played twice this season with the Cavs winning a laugher in Cleveland 113-85 in November and the Sixers winning 118-112 in Philly a month ago. In that game the Cavs were down by 28 in the 3rd quarter and clawed all the way back to a 4-point deficit with 1:30 to go, but the Sixers made their free throws and closed it out. Mitchell and Garland combined for 60 points but the Cavs’ bench only had 12. The Sixers were 13-for-27 on 3’s while the Cavs were 10-for-30 and that was the difference.
In November the Cavs were 15-for-29 on 3’s while the Sixers were 6-for-26. Seems like whoever dominates the 3-point shooting always wins.
In last month’s game the Cavs scored 38 points in the first half and 74 in the second. Donovan Mitchell says the Cavs figured out what they could do against the Sixers.
"I honestly think we just found things that worked…I don’t want to call it a sense of urgency, but I think we just played with a little more force. Realized we could get downhill, get open shots, make plays defensively…"
So I’m sure the Cavs will look at the second half film and take note of what worked and how they got “downhill”. It’s also possibly the Sixers lost some intensity after being up by 25 points at halftime.
The Cavs will have to play with "a little more force" because they will be without Jarrett Allen. However, they did not have him when they blew out the Sixers in November. Diakite started and was a +16 in 23 minutes and Embiid had only 19 points. Maybe the Cavs should bring Mama back for this game. LeVert, Okoro, and Osman combined for 42 points off the bench in that one. The bench will need to step up tonight for the Cavs to be competitive.
Joel Embiid leads the Sixers with 33 points and 10 rebounds per game at 54% overall and 35% on 3’s. Embiid is the worst 3-point shooter among their starters as the others are all between 38-41%. As a team the Sixers are 2nd in 3-point percentage at a shade under 39%. Job One when playing the Sixers is to defend their 3-point shooting.
James Harden has a line of 22/6/11 on 45% from the field. He leads the NBA in assists. PG Tyrese Maxey averages 20 points on 47% and 41%; PF Tobias Harris averages 15 points, and SG De’Anthony Melton averages 10. Shake Milton hits 40% of his 3’s off the bench.
The Sixers rank 4th in offensive efficiency but only 13th in scoring as they play the slowest pace in the league, ranking last in shots per game. The Cavs are 27th so these teams both like to walk it up and grind down the shot clock. This shapes up as a battle of half-court offenses where every possession is more important because there are fewer of them than usual. It's the NBA's version of sumo wrestling.
Despite having Mr. Embiid the Sixers rank 21st in points in the paint. They like to score from deep and from the foul line, where they lead the NBA in free throws made per game. Embiid and Harden combine to average 16 made free throws per game. The rest of the team combined averages 5. These established stars are experts at throwing themselves into the defender and the refs give them all the calls.
The Sixers’ only offensive weakness is rebounding where they rank 27th. They don’t see much point in crashing the offensive glass. If the Cavs can force a miss on the first shot they should be in good shape despite not having Allen.
Defensively the Sixers are 9th in efficiency. They are above average across the board, except that they don’t defend the rim well, ranking 25th in opponents’ shooting percentage at the rim. They’re 6th in opponents’ 3-point percentage, so the Cavs might have more success attacking the rim than bombing from the outside.
After Embiid their starters are 6’7” (Harris), 6’5” (Tucker and Harden), 6’2” (Maxey). Jalen McDaniels, a 6’9” backup power forward, will probably miss the game. The Sixers are rather small other than at center, which suggests the Cavs should “play downhill” and attack the rim.
The website cleaningtheglass.com ranks the Sixers 1st in offense and 25th in defense over the last two weeks. Their average score per 100 possessions in those seven games is 132-121 and their record is 6-1. So despite ranking 9th in defensive efficiency on the season their defense has fallen off as of late. Indiana scored 143 against them last week (but still lost) and Milwaukee got 130 (also a loss). Dallas scored 133 and beat them. Their defense has been hot and cold lately. As previously noted, the Cavs scored 74 points in the second half the last time these teams played, so maybe they found some weaknesses to exploit.
Donovan Mitchell has had two days off so he should be ready to go. He’s averaging 25.5 points against the Sixers this year and hitting 50% from deep. Garland is averaging 24.0 points and is 6-for-7 on 3’s. For the Cavs to win this one Garland and Mitchell need to continue their hot shooting from behind the arc and the bench will need to contribute more than 12 points. If the Cavs can attack the rim effectively while DM and DG continue their success on the perimeter, the Cavs have a chance to score more than 113 and 112 this time.
Defensively the Cavs need to play tough perimeter defense and contest the 3-point shots. In the game the Sixers won they shot 48% from deep; in the game they lost it was 23%. Make the Sixers try to win on 2-point shots. With Allen out it will be harder defending the rim, however.
Mobley has to be very careful to avoid getting in foul trouble guarding Embiid. I’m sure Joel will go at him early to try and put him on the bench. The Cavs as a team need to stay out of foul trouble and keep the Sixers from shooting 25 or more free throws. No fouling the 3-point shooters, please.
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