The Philadelphia 76ers complete their brief 3-game road trip by paying a visit to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday. They will need a win to salvage what has been a lost road trip so far as they dropped the first two of the trip to the Orlando Magic and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Sixers and the Cavs matched up just five days ago in Philadelphia with the Sixers gutting out a 98-97 win on a last-second Joel Embiid dunk and a final Sixers stop. To get a win on Sunday, they will have to end their road woes as they have dropped five in a row while playing in other team’s buildings.
With that being said, it’s time for the preview with the works:
How to watch Sixers vs. Cavaliers
- Date: Sunday, November 17
- Time: 3:00 p.m. EST
- Location: Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse Cleveland, OH
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia+
Injury report
- Sixers: NONE
- Cavaliers: OUT: John Hensons(right hamstring strain), Dylan Windler(left lower leg stress reaction), DOUBTFUL: Larry Nance Jr.(left thumb sprain) PROBABLE: Ante Zizic(left foot plantar fascia)
Storylines
Brown believes Sixers can turn it around
It is very early in the season for panic even though the Sixers have lost five of their past seven games following a 5-0 start to the season. A lot has been made of their struggles in recent games, especially in the shooting department, but coach Brett Brown is confident the team can turn things around and get back on track stating on Friday:
If you’re sick and you don’t know why, then that’s a problem. We’re in a tough spot right now, but it’s a long year. I think that it doesn’t take much for me to understand where we have to get better, and it’s really that simple. If you’re scratching your head really confused then I think we’ve got some problems, but that’s not what I’m doing. I think our guys understandthe areas that matter most that can best impact changing the way things are going to get back on the winning side.
Simmons receiving advice
All-Star point guard Ben Simmons still hears criticism about his game as he has yet to take an outside jump shot and he has had some issues in terms of his aggressiveness on the offensive end. On Friday in their matchup with the Thunder, he became a bit more aggressive in the second half and was playing well before fouling out.
Simmons said he received some advice from his teammates as he stated:
“I just played. I went to the hole, was being aggressive and tried to make the right play every time. And just being me. J-Rich [Josh Richardson] and Joel [Embiid] told me to keep playing that way and get out of my own way.”
Prediction
The Sixers are a desperate team. They’re frustrated and they want to get back on the winning track. Expect them to play with some type of inspired ball on Sunday and as long as they contain the Cavs Big 3 of Collin Sexton, Kevin Love, and Tristan Thompson, they should come out on top. It’s only November so it’s really tough to really call a game a “must-win” this early in the season, but this one is as close as it gets.
Pick: Sixers in a close one
Sixers vs. Cavaliers season series
Game 1 November 12: 98-97 Sixers
Game 2 November 17:
Game 3 December 7:
Game 4 February 26:
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