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Five Keys: Cavaliers vs. Sixers - March 29, 2015

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Key: Home Sweet Home

After playing 26 of their last 36 – and 15 of 20 – games on the road, the Cavaliers return to The Q for much of the homestretch, beginning with Sunday’s matinee against Philly. After falling for just the second time in the last 10 games on Friday night in Brooklyn, the Wine and Gold look to right the ship against the Lottery-bound Sixers on Sunday.

The Cavs have split the season series with the Sixers heading into today’s meeting, thumping them in early February after falling on January 5 – the night Cleveland dealt Dion Waiters to OKC in a season-altering deal three team deal that brought J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert (and, days later, Timofey Mozgov) to the North Coast. The Cavaliers currently sit two full games ahead of the Bulls for the second playoff spot in the East with eight games to play and have a three-day break following Sunday’s contest – with the Heat and those same Bulls on deck this weekend.

The Sixers have only beaten three teams with a winning record this year; the Cavs will need to make sure they don’t make it four on Sunday.

Key: Noel, Noel

For most of the season, the big matchup has been between the two teams’ point guards. But over the past few games, it’s been the bigs who’ve taken center stage. In just the past week-and-change, the Wine and Gold have faced Roy HIbbert, Zaza Pachulia, Marc Gasol and Brook Lopez – with only Lopez’ squad eventually getting the better of them.

On Sunday afternoon, they’ll see one of the best young bigs in the East in Nerlens Noel, who’s coming off a 30-point, 12-rebound performance against the Clippers and is putting up historic rookie numbers that have him in the company of guys like David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon.

For the Cavs, Timofey Mozgov has been very good since his arrival and hasn’t lost a single game at The Q in a Cavaliers uniform. But, once again, he played sparingly in the second half on Friday night in Brooklyn, logging just over 16 minutes of action on the night. Before Friday, Mozgov had notched double-figure scoring in eight of his previous nine outings, including a 14-point, nine-board outing against Gasol and the Grizzlies. The Cavs will need him to be big on Sunday afternoon against Philly’s up-and-comer in the middle.

Key: Stingy Sixers

Mainly because of Noel’s rapid ascension, the Sixers have made huge leaps defensively this season – allowing 9.4 points fewer per game than they did a year ago. Brett Brown’s squad has held opponents under 100 points in 34 games this year and held them under 90 in 17. The Sixers are tops in the NBA in blocked shots – averaging 6.15 blocks per game – and steals – averaging 9.74 per contest – while ranking second overall in forced turnovers at 16.8.

They’ll need all that defensive mojo when they roll into Cleveland on Sunday, taking on a Cavaliers club that’s been an offensive juggernaut at home. In Cleveland’s previous meeting with Philly, six players tallied double-figures. And the Wine and Gold have beaten 13 of their previous 15 opponents by double-figures in running their home win streak to 15 games – with the last home loss coming on January 7 against Houston. And when the Cavaliers do top the century mark, they’re virtually unbeatable, winning 24 of their last 25 and going 38-5 overall.

Key: Calling Dr. Love

As the Cavaliers wrap up the month of March on Sunday afternoon, one of their main goals heading into the homestretch (and the postseason) will be getting Kevin Love into a good rhythm.

The three-time All-Star had one of his best games of the season on Wednesday night in Memphis – dominant both inside and out and notching his team-leading 36th double-double of the season. But on Friday night, despite an 18-point, 7-rebound performance, struggled on the defensive end – committing five personal fouls in the fourth quarter. Love has played well all season, but has yet to find the steady game-to-game rhythm that he did in his previous six seasons in Minnesota. Facing off against Philly might be just the remedy for Love as Cleveland barrels towards the postseason. He had a monster game against the Sixers back in January – tallying 28 points and 19 rebounds to go with two assists and a pair of steals.

The Cavaliers don’t need him to put up those numbers every night, but Love would love to get himself in a steady flow as the 2014-15 regular season winds down.

Key: The Rest of the Story

At some point, the Cavaliers would ideally like to get some of their stars a break before the NBA’s second season tips off in a few weeks. Since missing eight games with a cranky left knee and sore lower back in early January, LeBron James has missed only two contests since.

He’s been in MVP-caliber form all year and, like the rest of the team, is focused on locking up the No. 2 seed in the East. But the Cavs need him fresh for the postseason. LeBron has dropped just one of his last 22 meetings with the Sixers and his old pals from Miami roll in later this week. David Blatt and the Cavs training staff will attempt to manage James’ minutes over the final two weeks of the season – while still trying to lock up the best seeding possible.

Kyrie Irving has missed just two games since sitting out the January 5 meeting with the Sixers in Philly, and the Cavs would like to get their star guard some time off, too.

Coach Blatt remarked that the Cavaliers were in the “hole of the tornado” right now – coming off a brutal road stretch but with the playoffs looming. How he and his staff handle their stars over the final eight games might be big as they head to the other end of the storm.