Key: Road Warriors
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One week ago, the Sixers might have taken the Wine & Gold lightly as Cleveland closes out a three-game roadie. But after struggling on the road themselves and seeing the young Cavaliers take one-sided wins in Washington and New York, they know John Beilein’s bunch will be bringing it on Tuesday night in Philly.
The Cavaliers went wire-to-wire in consecutive contests – jumping out big and holding on late against the Wizards on Friday and completely dismantling the Knicks for four quarters on Sunday. In that win over New York, the young Cavs jumped on New York early and extended their edge to as much as 30 points midway through the third quarter.
Collin Sexton notched a career-high in points and Cleveland extended its domination of the Knicks at the Garden – winning their 11th straight in that gym and now 16 of the last 19 in the series.
Trying to keep pace with the red-hot Celtics and Raptors in the Atlantic Division, the Sixers had dropped three straight out West before returning home to top the Hornets at home on Sunday. Philly has been without All-Star guard Ben Simmons – who suffered a shoulder injury – for the past two games and he’s likely out for tonight’s meeting at Wells Fargo Center.
The Cavs have taken 15 of their last 20 meetings against the Sixers, including a 7-3 mark on Philly’s home floor over that stretch.
Key: Center of Attention
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Tristan Thompson only faced the Sixers one time last season, but he posted a big performance in a big road win – and had plenty to say to some select Sixers fans while he did so.
Expect another excellent big man battle on Tuesday night when two of the Conference’s most intense and expressive centers go at it.
Tristan has been playing at an All-Star level through the season’s first nine games – averaging career-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. His mark of 4.9 offensive rebounds per game is currently tops in the NBA.
The ninth-year man was relatively quiet on Sunday night in New York, but began the trip with a monster showing against Washington – finishing with 21 points, 12 boards, three steals and a pair of blocks on Friday night.
Like the Sixers, Joel Embiid is searching for some consistency so far this season. Unlike Thompson, Embiid’s numbers have taken a slight dip this season, but he’s still posted some huge efforts – including a 27-point, 16-rebound, two-block effort against Rudy Gobert and the Jazz in his first outing off a two-game suspension.
In three games against Cleveland last year, the Sixers big man averaged 21.7 points and 13.3 boards per.
Key: Liberty Bull
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Through his first nine games with the Sixers, Josh Richardson hasn’t yet found the same success he had in Miami – shooting just over 40 percent from the floor, including 29 percent from long-distance.
The crafty 2-guard from Tennessee has topped the 20-point plateau just once this season – finishing with 24 last week against Utah. He’s notched double-figure scoring in each of his last eight meetings against the Cavaliers, topping the 20-point mark in two of the last three games.
The Sixers will likely be without Ben Simmons, who missed consecutive games for the first time in his NBA career with a shoulder injury. Simmons was leading the league in steals when he went down and Philly blew a 21-point lead without him in the lineup last week in Denver, but Raul Neto has still been solid in his absence.
The Cavaliers young guards come into tonight’s battle healthy and happy – each having posted career-high scoring numbers through the first two games of the trip.
Darius Garland is averaging 13.5 points per on the trip after netting double-figures just once in his previous seven games. In an equally welcome development, the 19-year-old has led the Wine & Gold with six assists in both road victories.
Collin Sexton has been dynamic all season and now leads the Wine & Gold in scoring – thanks to his 31-point outburst on Sunday night in New York, going 10-of-16 from the floor, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.
In that win, Sexton became just the third Cavalier in team history – and the youngest player ever at Madison Square Garden – to score over 30 points without committing a single turnover.