Sixers vs. Cavaliers preview: Sixers look to make it two wins in a row

The Philadelphia 76ers will look to make it two wins in a row against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Philadelphia 76ers returned home on Sunday and put a screeching halt on a dreadful three-game losing streak by knocking off the Charlotte Hornets. Now, they will look to make it a winning streak when they host Collin Sexton and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday.

They will have to do it without Al Horford, who will miss the game for a scheduled rest day with it being the first game of a back-to-back, and possibly without Ben Simmons who is still dealing with an ailing AC joint sprain. The Sixers are a perfect 3-0 at home and they will need the contributions of others to make sure they get to 4-0.

With that being said, it’s time to dive into this matchup with the works:

How to watch Sixers vs. Cavaliers

  • Date: Tuesday, November 12
  • Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
  • Location: Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA
  • TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, NBATV

Injury report

  • Sixers: OUT: Al Horford(rest) QUESTIONABLE: Ben Simmons(right AC joint sprain) DOUBTFUL: Shake Milton(left knee bone bruise)
  • Cavaliers: OUT: John Henson(right hamstring strain), Dylan Windler(left lower leg stress reaction), Ante Zizic(left foot plantar fascitis)

Storylines

Limiting turnovers

Despite the 6-3 start, turnovers have been an eyesore for the Sixers. They committed 20 in their win over the Hornets on Sunday and it’s something that coach Brett Brown lamented after it was all over.

This is what I tell the team: until we can fix this, this is a house built on sand. It is fool’s gold and we have to find a discipline and a better way to control that. The turnovers in the first half, some of them were live ball, a lot of them were just getting things batted out of our hands. We can’t fool ourselves, this is a problem. This is a problem and we need to own it.

The Sixers are now committing 18.8 turnovers per game which is good for 28th in the league. That will not get it done for a championship-contending team.

I’m the head coach. I’ve got to find a way to fix it. There needs to be a level of accountability with the players and that’s that. It’s not anything we take lightly, we don’t dismiss it, the times are over where you’re looking at some of the young guys and you can justify it. You can’t do that anymore and it’s time that we get better at that. The players know it, they understand it, but we’ve got to fix it.

Chemistry

The Sixers are a relatively new group. New players like Horford and Josh Richardson as well as reserves Raul Neto and Trey Burke have all played a key role on this Sixers team this season. That causes some confusion on the floor with guys learning a new scheme and it can be the cause of a lot of turnovers. Due to this fact, Richardson tries to put it into perspective for a lot of people.

It felt great, a win is always a great. A win is always positive energy in the locker room so after a tough skid, I think it was good for us to come out here and get this win. You’ve got to remember though we’ve only been playing together for three weeks, honestly in games so it’s going to take time for everything to jell.

Prediction

The Cavaliers will not be an easy win for the Sixers. Coach John Beilein has done a terrific job here in the early going of getting the most out of his players and getting them to play hard and Kevin Love is back healthy averaging 18.3 points and 13.4 rebounds for Cleveland. Also, Tristan Thompson is always a problem on the glass so it will be up to Joel Embiid to hold up his end of the bargain with Horford out resting. The Sixers are the more talented team so they should win, but it won’t be easy.

Pick: Sixers in a close one

Sixers vs. Cavaliers season series

Game 1 November 12:

Game 2 November 17:

Game 3 December 7:

Game 4 February 26:

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Demaryius Thomas among 6 unsung heroes from Jets’ win over Giants

Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams deserve all the credit for the win, but these veterans and rookies stepped up in a huge way in the Jets’ win.

The Jets’ 34-27 win over the Giants was a team effort. Almost everyone chipped in to help the Jets earn their second victory of the season, especially with an injury-riddled roster.

Sam Darnold and Jamal Adams deserve most of the credit for the win, but there were plenty of other players that helped at various positions on the field. Players stepped up for injured teammates or bad play and immediately contributed on both sides of the ball. A couple rookies even stood out.

Here are six unsung heroes from the Jets’ Week 10 win.

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MRI on left knee of Troy Daniels comes back negative, he’s questionable tonight in Phoenix

MRI on left knee of Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Troy Daniels comes back negative, he’s questionable tonight in Phoenix against the Suns.

Los Angeles Lakers guard Troy Daniels is battling a sore left knee and underwent an MRI on Monday. Fortunately, the MRI was negative and there is a chance he will be able to play tonight in Phoenix against the Suns. The sharp-shooting Daniels–who LeBron James dubbed “layup” because his threes are like layups–connected on 3-of-5 field goals from beyond the arc during Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Raptors while finishing with 11 points in 17 minutes.

Daniels knocked down 4-of-8 triples during the Lakers first win of the season against the Utah Jazz, but went relatively cold from distance since then prior to breaking out on Sunday. According to Mike Trudell of Spectrum Sports, Daniels will enter tonight’s matchup against his former team as questionable on the injury report.

Whether he is able to go tonight or not, Daniels is one of the long-range shooters Los Angeles will need more consistency from as the season continues. In order to open up driving lanes for LeBron and others, L.A. will need to shoot it better than the 31.1% from deep that currently has them ranked No. 27 in the league in 3-point shooting as a team. Daniels is a 39.8% 3-point shooter for his career who is only connecting on 31% of his triples through these first nine games of the season. During the 2017-18 campaign with Phoenix he shot 40% from deep and last season with the Suns he connected on 38.1% of his triples.

The Lakers will meet an overachieving Phoenix squad tonight who has been the surprise of the NBA thus far. While off to a 6-3 start, the Suns are shooting 38.4% from deep which has them ranked No. 5 in the NBA in 3-point efficiency. Devin Booker is leading the way for Phoenix with 25.8 points and 5.4 assists per night. The veteran Ricky Rubio, meanwhile, is averaging 13.6 points, 8.6 assists and 6.8 rebounds.

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Florida middle school football coach faces charges for slamming student against wall for not wearing shirt

A Florida middle school football coach is facing charges that he allegedly slammed one of his players into a wall after the player refused to wear a shirt after a recent game.

A Florida middle school football coach is suddenly facing charges against he allegedly slammed one of his players into a wall when the teen in question refused to put on shirt following a game.

As reported by Orlando ABC affiliate WFTV, Seminole County Millenium Middle School physical education teacher and football coach became entangled in a physical altercation with one of his students when the middle schooler refused to leave the locker room wearing a shirt after a football game.

The 56-year-old Michael Henry apparently tried to force the player to wear a shirt by blocking the door for his exit, leading the player to bump into his head coach to try and force his way out. That inspired the coach to grab him and violently slam him into a wall, leading both to crash to the ground and the teen to develop a small bump on his head.

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Henry was charged with battery in connection with the incident and was booked on a $500 bond. Meanwhile, the coach has been placed on paid administrative leave during the investigation. No timeline has been given about when that investigation may wrap up or when Henry may be back in a courtroom in connection with the battery charge against him.

Dolphins’ Brian Flores focused on improving today, not the future

Head coach Brian Flores isn’t worried about how winning in 2019 will impact the search for a new starting quarterback.

If you’ve been following the Dolphins closely this fall, you’ve probably heard someone mutter it over the course of the last two weeks.

“They can’t even tank right!”

As has been well established over the course of the Dolphins’ 2019 calendar year, the Dolphins are, in fact, not tanking. There’s been a managerial focus on collecting assets and creating salary cap space with the understanding that such an approach is probably going to hinder the Dolphins’ on-field product. Such an approach requires everyone to be on the same page — the Dolphins have done a very good job of ensuring that thus far in to their rebuild. But Miami wasn’t dedicated to slapping their players and fans in the face by giving up on 16 games, they’ve been playing to win.

And through a hard-nosed, disciplined approach, the Dolphins have started to do exactly that. Miami now sits at 2-7 and with the 4th overall pick in the current 2020 NFL Draft order. Is that going to cost Miami the chance to draft a quarterback? Potentially — but don’t tell that to Brian Flores, because he doesn’t care.

“My job is to put this team in the best position to try to go out there and be productive and try to win football games,” said Flores yesterday during his press availability.

“I think every head coach, every general manager, every organization is thinking about things long-term, as well as short-term. We’re no different, but right now my goal is to get each one of those guys in that locker better (and) as good as they can be. That’s the goal for me and our coaching staff.”

For most rebuilding teams, the worry would be concerns. But most rebuilding teams don’t have a war chest of 1st-round draft picks. And with 7 losses already this season, Miami will have the mobility they need to attack the draft. That luxury allows Flores the opportunity to make sure he’s developing his football players and — as he said himself — get his guys as good as they can be.

With more time, some of this year’s contributors will become fixtures for the next several years of the Flores era — and hopefully a dynamic turnaround into a winning program. That has value, too.

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Jets will face another rookie QB with Dwayne Haskins set to start for Washington

Redskins coach Bill Callahan announced on Monday that rookie Dwayne Haskins will start at quarterback for the remainder of the season.

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Washington head coach Bill Callahan announced Monday that rookie QB Dwayne Haskins will start for the remainder of the season. That means he will be under center when the Jets visit the nation’s capital this weekend.

Both teams have struggled to gain traction in 2019. The Jets, however, are coming off a win against the New York Giants. Big Blue was represented by a rookie signal-caller of its own in Daniel Jones. Rewind another two weeks and New York faced off against the Jacksonville Jaguars and Gardner Minshew. Gang Green wasn’t as fortunate in that game, as they were defeated by a score of 29-15.

So, New York is currently split at one game apiece vs. first-year quarterbacks.

It’s important that New York adds this matchup against Haskins to the win column. Following Sunday’s victory, Sam Darnold spoke on the importance of stringing together games in hopes of making a playoff appearance. Though a lofty aspiration, the 2-7 Jets will need to prove they can land on the better side of that rookie split in Week 11 if they hope to prove their own signal-caller right.

Haskins, drafted 15th overall last April, has already made one start and appeared in three games. He’s yet to throw a touchdown compared to four interceptions. The numbers have not been pretty, but with Washington sitting at 1-8, the focus is on the future.

Browns open as 2.5-point favorites over the Steelers

The Browns have covered the spread against the Steelers just once in the last 10 meetings

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Being 2.5-point favorites over a team that currently holds a Wild Card spot worked very well for the Cleveland Browns in Week 10. Now Freddie Kitchens and his Browns get the chance to do it again

The Browns opened with the same odds vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 11 as last Sunday against the Bills at BetMGM, favored by 2.5 points. Cleveland is 3-6, Pittsburgh is 5-4 and current holders of the No. 6 seed in the AFC.

The over/under on the game is a low 40 points, which means the projected score is in the 21-19 range. The Browns have covered the spread just once in the last 10 matchups with the Steelers.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Vision for Dolphins’ defense coming to life in recent weeks

The Dolphins’ defensive efforts have improved over the past month — bringing to life Miami’s vision for a fierce unit in South Florida.

The Miami Dolphins made a bold change of directions this past February when they decided to hire former New England Patriots head coach Brian Flores to serve as the next head coach of the Dolphins. Cam Cameron? An offensive mind. Tony Sparano? Blue collared — but still a former offensive line coach. Joe Philbin and Adam Gase? Two more offensive “visionaries” who turned out to be false promises.

When Miami hired Flores and the subsequent effort to open the season was nearly 100 points allowed in the team’s first two games, it was a gut punch. Here we go again, many surmised. But while it is too early in the process to determine what kind of head coach Brian Flores will ultimately be, we now know he’s definitely not a flop, as recent performances would indicate.

The Dolphins defense has come alive despite playing without three of their best players at the open of the 2019 season — defensive backs Xavien Howard, Reshad Jones and Minkah Fitzpatrick are all off the field for Miami, with Fitzpatrick traded and Jones and Howard battling injuries. The pass rush potency isn’t anything other than bottom shelf by NFL standards. And yet this defense is playing stout over their last 5 games.

Miami has conceded an average of 326 yards per game over their last five games. The team has forced 5 turnovers in their last three — after producing just two over the first six games. Eight sacks in the last four games versus five in the first five. And the defensive scoring is down considerably. Since Miami’s Week 5 bye week, the Dolphins defense is allowing under 19 points per game (18.8) if you adjust for Buffalo’s onside kick return for a touchdown and the New York Jets’ safety after an interception near their own goal line.

This is what the Dolphins envisioned this summer — even with the concessions in talent during a rebuilding year. Dolphins LB Jerome Baker said yesterday that this is the defensive vision Miami has been striving for since the summer.

“Yeah, if you just look at it, I just believe in ‘Coach Flo’ (Head Coach Brian Flores) and ‘P.G.’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham),” said Baker.

“These past few games have just been what they’ve been coaching us up to do and we’ve definitely been having fun playing this defense. Just got to continue.”

It isn’t just fun to play — it’s fun to watch.

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What’s wrong with the Colts offense?

Taking a look at why the Colts offense is struggling.

The Indianapolis Colts have one of the brightest minds in the NFL when it comes to offensive play-calling in head coach Frank Reich, but recently the offense has been stuck in the mud.

Early in the season, the offense was able to move the ball, whether that was through running the ball like they did in Los Angeles, or when they beat Kansas City.

They can also beat you through the air like they did in their home wins versus Atlanta and Houston. But the question right now is, “What is wrong with this offense?”

Obviously, the record speaks for itself. The Colts are now 0-7 without their best receiver T.Y. Hilton, and in those games, the Colts offense has been putrid, to say the least.

But there’s something more to the offense than just missing their best offensive player, and it’s something the Colts were strong at last year, and at the beginning of this season. Red zone scoring and third-down conversion rate.

Here is when a lot of numbers will be thrown at you. Indianapolis, in the first five games of the season, was converting third downs at a 47% rate (38/81), while red zone efficiency was at 65% (15/23).

Those are both very good numbers, worthy of being in the top-10, but here is where the offense hasn’t looked so great the past three games.

The Colts’ third-down conversion rate has dropped to 35% (13/37), and their red zone efficiency has dropped to 50% (5-10). Indianapolis was 1/1 versus Denver and 1/5 versus Miami so the results are somewhat skewed due to lack of consistency of getting to the red zone.

While the Colts have been missing their top targets in Hilton, Devin Funchess, Parris Campbell, and they didn’t have Jacoby Brissett for basically two games, these offensive woes have stemmed back really since the Kansas City game, where the Colts were 1/5 in the red zone and 5/14 on third down.

If the Colts want to get back to their winning ways and consistently have a good offense, they have to sure up their once-good third down and red zone offense if they want to make a playoff run.

Giants waive Evan Brown, Corn Elder signed by Panthers

The New York Giants have waived OL Evan Brown and had CB Corn Elder signed off of their practice squad by the Carolina Panthers.

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Less than a week after promoting him to their active roster, the New York Giants waived offensive lineman Evan Brown on Monday evening.

The 23-year-old Brown had been added to the team’s 53-man roster with center Jon Halapio (hamstring) and right tackle Mike Remmers (back) ailing. He logged just a single offensive snap (on a busted PAT) and two special teams snaps in a Week 10 loss to the New York Jets.

It’s likely the Giants sign Brown back to their practice squad if he clears waivers. And somewhat ironically, they now have an open space for him.

In addition to waiving Brown, the Giants announced on Monday that the Carolina Panthers had signed cornerback Corn Eldger to their 53-man roster from Big Blue’s practice squad.

The Giants had added Elder to their practice squad shortly after he was released by the Panthers as a part of final cuts in late August/early September.

The 25-year-old Elder was a fifth-round pick of the Panthers in the 2017 NFL Draft.

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