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Key: Afternoon Affair in Philly
There’s no way around it: the 2016-17 Cavaliers have been a precisely-tuned machine all season.
In a record-setting week, the Wine and Gold scored in excess of 128 points in consecutive games for the first time in franchise history. Their most recent victory – a 38-point drubbing of Dallas on Wednesday night at The Q – saw them hit 20 three-pointers (with J.R. Smith hitting only one of those) for the second straight game (a first in NBA regular season history) and improve their scoring average to 112.0 points per game this year, 2nd in the NBA.
At 12-2, Tyronn Lue’s squad is off to the best start in franchise history. And after wrapping up a three-game homestand clobbering opponents by an average of 24.3 points per, the Cavs now hit the road for five of their next six games, beginning with the one foe that’s given them the hardest time on the road without beating them – the Sixers – in a Sunday matinee.
Cleveland needed a three-pointer by Channing Frye with 1:05 to play in order to leave Philly with a one-point win, and they’ll look to make it eight straight against the Sixers.
Key: Trust the Process
It’s shaping up to be another difficult year in the City of Brotherly Love, with the Sixers in the cellar of the Eastern Conference with a 4-12 mark. But if there’s reason for optimism in Philly, it’s in leading Rookie of the Year candidate Joel Embiid.
The third overall pick in 2014, Embiid has been better than advertised 11 games into his NBA career, averaging 17.8 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. Six players since 1983 have posted those numbers 11 games into their career; Shaquille O’Neal was the last to do so in 1992-93 the other four players (Mutombo, Robinson, Olajuwon and Sampson) are Hall of Famers.
Embiid leads all rookies in the above categories and is second among freshman in three-point percentage and third in field goal percentage.
Tristan Thompson doesn’t get the ink that Embiid has, but he’s having another rock-solid season at the center of Cleveland’s attack. The former Longhorn, who notched a game-high 13 boards in Cleveland’s November 5 win over Philly, has grabbed 10 or more boards in 10 games this season. He notched his fourth double-double of the year in Wednesday’s win over Dallas.
Key: Kevin!!!
Kevin Love’s last All-Star season was 2014, his final year with the Timberwolves. But the eight-year vet is on course for a return to the midseason classic, posting easily his best numbers as a Cavalier, and some of the best in the league.
In the early-going, Love is one of just two players (Anthony Davis) averaging at least 20.0 points and 10.0 boards this year, doubling-up in eight of his last nine outings – following up his 40-point outburst against Portland to lead both squads with 27 points in 28 minutes against Dallas, adding 10 boards, four assists and three steals.
True to form, Love doubled-up in Cleveland’s first meeting with the Sixers, finishing with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a block.
The Sixers counter with Ersan Ilyasova, who’s been very good since arriving in Philly in an early-season deal. It’s not quite “Ersanity” yet in Philadelphia, but the veteran forward has notched double-figure scoring in 11 of his 13 appearances with Brett Brown’s squad, including a 22-point outing in a loss to the Grizzlies on Monday night and a team-high 14 against Chicago two nights later.
Key: El Rey
One guy that never has to worry about an All-Star nod is LeBron James, who made his 12th appearance last year and will make No. 13 this February in the Big Easy.
With Kyrie Irving’s emergence, there’s a possibility that, for the first time in his career LeBron might not be his squad’s leading scorer. (Although he’s only .3 behind Kyrie, 23.8 to 23.5.) This year, the four-time MVP has focused more on distributing the ball to his teammates and it’s worked out pretty well – he’s leading the Eastern Conference at 9.5 helpers per contest.
In his 1,000th career game – the Cavs blowout win over Dallas – James notched his eighth double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 assists. Always on the doorstep of history, LeBron needs 18 assists to pass Bob Cousy and move into 16th on the all-time list and he needs just one triple to make it 1,000 as a member of the Cavaliers. In the Wine and Gold’s first trip to Philly, No. 23 finished with 25 points, 14 dimes and eight boards.
The Sixers will try to slow James down with Robert Covington, who doesn’t usually focus on the offensive end, but finished with his first double-double (19 points, 10 boards) earlier this week against Memphis.
Key: Say Uncle!
As long as we’re going with an All-Star theme, Kyrie Irving – who’s now scored 20 points or more in 30 of his last 35 games dating back to last year’s Playoffs – is well on his way to making his fourth trip.
On Wednesday night, it was Kyrie’s turn to have a monster first quarter, and the former Blue Devil proceeded to hit his first 10 shots, netting a team-high 25 points in just 28 minutes of action. Over the course of the Cavaliers’ recent three-game homestand, Kyrie shot 67 percent from the floor, including 67 percent from three-point range.
But as good as Irving has been against just about every other team in the Association, he’s had his difficulties with Philadelphia – averaging 9.3 points on 25 percent shooting, including an eight-point effort on 3-for-14 in Cleveland’s win earlier this month.
The Sixers recently made a change in their starting lineup with the addition of Jerryd Bayless, who parlayed an 18-point effort off the bench on Monday night in Memphis into a start two nights later against the Bulls.