Following a 107-97 loss to the New York Knicks Friday the Sixers travel to Ohio to face the number one seeded Cleveland Cavaliers Sunday afternoon. It will be Cavs' point guard Kyrie Irving's first game back after suffering a knee injury in game one of the 2015 NBA finals in June. Irving suffered a broken kneecap in a collision with Golden State Warrior's guard Klay Thompson.
The Sixers enter the game with a record of 1-27 and on a 9 game losing streak. Cleveland comes in at the top of the Eastern Conference with a 17-7 record and a four game win streak. In addition, Cleveland has only lost one game at home all season, when John Wall of the Washington Wizards dropped 35 points on Dec. 1.
In two meetings earlier this season the Sixers closely lost both 107-100 and 108-102 in early November. For whatever reason the Sixers seem to get up against LeBron with an average point differential of -5 per game over the past two years, much better than their overall per game point differential of -10.
After hiring offensive innovator Mike D'Antoni as an associate head coach, the Sixers offense sputtered on Friday against the Knicks, hopefully the Sixers can start showing the same offensive prowess that D'Antoni's teams have shown in the past. He is most famous for his "Seven Seconds or Less" offense that he ran with the Phoenix Suns to great success.
Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten are off of minutes restrictions after both of their recent returns from ACL injuries. Nerlens Noel played Friday in New York after suffering a corneal abrasion against the Raptors on Dec 13.
Projected Lineups:
Sixers:
PG: Kendall Marshall
SG: Isaiah Canaan
SF: Robert Covington
PF: Nerlens Noel
C: Jahlil Okafor
Injuries: Joel Embiid (foot), Carl Landry (wrist)
Cavaliers:
PG: Kyrie Irving
SG: J.R. Smith
SF: LeBron James
PF: Kevin Love
C: Timofey Mozgov
Injuries: Mo Williams (finger), Iman Shumpert (wrist)
Broadcast Information
Time/Location: 3:30pm Eastern, Quicken Loans Arena
TV: CSN Philly
Radio: 97.5 the Fanatic
