After a disappointing one-point loss to the Rockets the Cavaliers brief two-game road trip concludes with a game in Philadelphia against the Sixers, who are 15-27 overall and have lost seven straight and 10 of 12. The two wins were against Brooklyn, who has lost 16 of 21, and Washington, who has lost 11 in a row.
Philly’s last win over a team over .500 was against the Celtics on Christmas day. For the season they are 6-13 at home.
Joel Embiid is out. He has played just 13 games this year. The Sixers are 7-6 with him and 8-21 without him. Jared McCain, who would probably be Rookie of the Year if he wasn’t out for the season with a knee injury, is also out.
The Sixers rank 27th in scoring. Without Embiid and McCain their only scorers are Maxey and Paul George, and George is not the force he used to be at age 34.
The Sixers are 24th in effective field goal percentage, 26th in 3-point percentage, and 25th in field goal attempts per game. They play very slowly, ranking 28th in pace. They do lead the league in free throws per offensive play, but with Embiid out they are closer to the bottom than the top.
Tyrese Maxey is their scoring leader at 26.4 ppg, but he takes a lot of shots, making just 43% from the field and 33% on 3’s. Paul George has a line of 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, so he’s still productive, but he’s shooting 42% from the field and 36% on 3’s. Last year he shot 47% and 41% for the Clippers so his shooting percentages have fallen off significantly. The Sixers gave him a four-year deal for $211 million, all guaranteed, which might be the worst free agent signing of last off-season.
Kelly Oubre averages 13.5 points. Andre Drummond is the starting center with Embiid out but he has also been ruled out for this game so it appears Guerschon Yabusele will start at center. He averages 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Starting power forward Caleb Martin is also out along with backup point guard Kyle Lowry. So the Sixers will be missing their starting center (and best player), their starting power forward, their backup center, and their backup point guard. They’re going to be reaching way down the bench to get through this game.
I don’t see any way the Sixers can win this unless Maxey, George, and Oubre all have their best games of the year and a couple bench guys have career games. The Sixers lost to the Cavs earlier this year by scores of 114-106 in Philly and 126-99 in Cleveland. Embiid did not play in either game. McCain scored 34 points in the first game to keep it close but he missed the second game and the Cavs won by 27.
Mobley and Okoro are out for the Cavs and LeVert is a game time decision. The Cavs fly back to Cleveland after the game and play the Rockets again on Saturday, so it will be great if the starters can wrap this one up early so they don’t have to play a lot of minutes. The Rockets will have had had two days off.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Luke Travers - OUT (G-League)
Evan Mobley - OUT (calf)
Isaac Okoro - OUT (shoulder)
Caris LeVert - QUESTIONABLE (wrist)
PHILADELPHIA
Kyle Lowry - OUT (hip)
Andre Drummond - OUT (toe)
Caleb Martin - OUT (hip)
Kenyon Martin Jr - OUT (foot)
Joel Embiid - OUT (knee)
Jared McCain - OUT (knee)
Philly’s last win over a team over .500 was against the Celtics on Christmas day. For the season they are 6-13 at home.
Joel Embiid is out. He has played just 13 games this year. The Sixers are 7-6 with him and 8-21 without him. Jared McCain, who would probably be Rookie of the Year if he wasn’t out for the season with a knee injury, is also out.
The Sixers rank 27th in scoring. Without Embiid and McCain their only scorers are Maxey and Paul George, and George is not the force he used to be at age 34.
The Sixers are 24th in effective field goal percentage, 26th in 3-point percentage, and 25th in field goal attempts per game. They play very slowly, ranking 28th in pace. They do lead the league in free throws per offensive play, but with Embiid out they are closer to the bottom than the top.
Tyrese Maxey is their scoring leader at 26.4 ppg, but he takes a lot of shots, making just 43% from the field and 33% on 3’s. Paul George has a line of 17.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists, so he’s still productive, but he’s shooting 42% from the field and 36% on 3’s. Last year he shot 47% and 41% for the Clippers so his shooting percentages have fallen off significantly. The Sixers gave him a four-year deal for $211 million, all guaranteed, which might be the worst free agent signing of last off-season.
Kelly Oubre averages 13.5 points. Andre Drummond is the starting center with Embiid out but he has also been ruled out for this game so it appears Guerschon Yabusele will start at center. He averages 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds in 26 minutes.
Starting power forward Caleb Martin is also out along with backup point guard Kyle Lowry. So the Sixers will be missing their starting center (and best player), their starting power forward, their backup center, and their backup point guard. They’re going to be reaching way down the bench to get through this game.
I don’t see any way the Sixers can win this unless Maxey, George, and Oubre all have their best games of the year and a couple bench guys have career games. The Sixers lost to the Cavs earlier this year by scores of 114-106 in Philly and 126-99 in Cleveland. Embiid did not play in either game. McCain scored 34 points in the first game to keep it close but he missed the second game and the Cavs won by 27.
Mobley and Okoro are out for the Cavs and LeVert is a game time decision. The Cavs fly back to Cleveland after the game and play the Rockets again on Saturday, so it will be great if the starters can wrap this one up early so they don’t have to play a lot of minutes. The Rockets will have had had two days off.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Luke Travers - OUT (G-League)
Evan Mobley - OUT (calf)
Isaac Okoro - OUT (shoulder)
Caris LeVert - QUESTIONABLE (wrist)
PHILADELPHIA
Kyle Lowry - OUT (hip)
Andre Drummond - OUT (toe)
Caleb Martin - OUT (hip)
Kenyon Martin Jr - OUT (foot)
Joel Embiid - OUT (knee)
Jared McCain - OUT (knee)