The Philadelphia 76ers are coming off an impressive win where Joel Embiid stepped up and scored a career-high 49 points to lead the Sixers to a win. The thing is, it was at home. Philadelphia always performs well at home and it’s on the road where all of the issues come to light again. They have a chance on Wednesday to silence those issues a bit.
Their opponent is the Cleveland Cavaliers who own the worst record in the Eastern Conference by percentage points. They did earn an impressive win in their last outing trailing by as many as 22 and rallying to beat the Miami Heat in overtime at home on Monday. The Cavs have some young talent led by Collin Sexton, Darius Garland, and Kevin Porter Jr. plus veterans Andre Drummond and Kevin Love. It will not be easy for Philly on the road.
With that being said, it’s now time for the game guide to this one”
How to watch Sixers vs. Cavaliers
- Date: Wednesday, February 26
- Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Cleveland, OH
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Injury Report
- Sixers: OUT: Ben Simmons (nerve impingement) DOUBTFUL: Norvel Pelle (upper respiratory illness)
- Cavaliers: OUT: Dante Exum (left ankle sprain), Dylan Windler (left lower leg stress reaction), Alfonzo McKinnie (left plantar fasciitis)
Storylines
Next man up for Sixers
With Simmons out and to be re-evaluated in two weeks, the Sixers will have to rely on others to step up in his place. That means guys like Josh Richardson, Shake Milton, and others will have to step up in his place. None of those guys will provide the type of production of a guy like Simmons, but it’s all about holding down the fort until he can return.
“It’s next man up as always,” said Richardson. “Ben’s a great player, we’re going to miss his presence, but at the end of the day, we need to pick up the slack and keep going.”
Horford back in the starting lineup
Coach Brett Brown made a surprising move by inserting Al Horford back into the starting lineup on Monday as the Sixers needed somebody who can run the offense. While Horford is, obviously, not a point guard, he can run the offense from his high post position on the floor.
“When you don’t have Ben, you start thinking about what you are going to do,” Brown explained. “I look at a start as the opportunity to grow a group that will be playing when Ben is sitting. Ben is not going to be playing 48 minutes. When you look at a group that could play when Ben’s not with us, can I have an opportunity to see who might be able to be the back-up point guard as another legitimate ball-handler? In that design, Al came in.”
It remains to be seen if this will be a regular thing again, but Horford can really help the team during this time.
Prediction
The Sixers should win this game, but it’s on the road, so who knows? Cleveland will not just lie down. They have played a little better since the resignation of John Beilein and J.B. Bickerstaff stepping into the position and their win over the Heat was impressive. At the end of the day, the Sixers are a much, much better team and they will need to focus and make sure they can get this one done.
Pick: Sixers, but maybe Cavs? We’ll see. It is in Cleveland, after all.
Sixers vs. Cavaliers season series
Game 1 November 12: 98-97 Sixers
Game 2 November 17: 114-95 Sixers
Game 3 December 7: 141-94 Sixers
Game 4 February 26:
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