Last season, fans missed out on a chance to see LeBron James play in Philadelphia. With a meeting scheduled last January, James was dinged up with a knee injury and took a few weeks off, including that game. It left many fans unsatisfied as tickets for some areas approached triple digits in cost. Tonight, however, fans should be satisfied to know that he will in fact play, barring something crazy over the next three hours.
Being that LeBron James is Mr. King James, his popularity extends to not just the fans, but some players. Count Sixers’ guard Nik Stauskas among those excited for the King’s arrival to Philadelphia, according to CSN Philly’s John Finger.
Growing up about a four hour drive from Cleveland, living in Suburban Toronto, Stauskas said his Christmas present every year was a chance to go see James play in Cleveland. He was such a big fan that he collected each of James’ jerseys.
“I had every kind of [LeBron James] jersey,” Stauskas said. “I had his All-Star jerseys, his Cavs jerseys, his Team USA jerseys, his high school jersey. I had everything.”
Stauskas added that last year was the “biggest deal” getting the opportunity to go up against his idol. He gets that chance to again not just tonight, but again later this week when the Sixers are in Cleveland Friday night.
While Stauskas is excited to go up against him, his coach does not share the same enthusiasm. Brett Brown, who was on the San Antonio Spurs staff for three NBA Finals meetings with James, knows his team has quite a challenge of not stopping, but slowing James down. Brown admitted he is still searching for a solution.
“All we ever talked about was showing him a crowd,” Brown said about defending James. “He had to come down the floor and see five people’s numbers in the whole paint and if he threw it to someone else, good luck. He’s a locomotive, he’s a runaway train. You can’t believe the size of the man — he’s so big. He’s just so different and we all say the same thing: I don’t know what you do.”
Game Notes:
-
LeBron James is averaging over 26 points per game in 37 career meetings against the Sixers. In his most recent meeting in late March last season, he scored 20 points in what was only a 1-point Cavs victory.
-
Philadelphia has dropped 5 of their last 6 matchups with the Cavs, but oddly have won 6 of their previous 7 on their home floor.
-
The 76ers are averaging 83 points per game through two contests, which is worst in the league. They have already turned the ball over 40 times.
-
Only three Sixers are shooting above 37.5%: Jahlil Okafor, Stauskas and JaKarr Sampson.
Injuries:
Cleveland: Kyrie Irving is out indefinitely with a broken knee cap. Iman Shumpert will miss the game with a wrist injury.
Philadelphia: Robert Covington is listed as “probable” on the Sixers’ website. He had been recovering from an injured knee he hurt in the preseason.
Projected Lineups:
Cleveland:
C- Timofey Mazgov
F- Kevin Love
F- LeBron James
G- J.R. Smith
G- Mo Williams
Philadelphia:
C- Jahlil Okafor
F- Nerlens Noel
F- JaKarr Sampson
F- Hollis Thompson
G- Isaiah Canaan
Prediction: Even if Philadelphia was playing well, it would be hard to imagine them staying in this game. You can bet there is no way James lets Cleveland lose this game. 117-88 Cleveland.
