Given the Andrew Bynum bowling debacle, not many teams could claim to have been affected by injuries as much as the Sixers, but the Cleveland Cavaliers might be in the discussion. After all-star Kyrie Irving misssed some time earlier this season with a fractured finger, he’s now out again indefinitely with a shoulder injury. Besides Irving’s struggles staying on the court, the Cavaliers also lost big man Anderson Varejao for the season, who was having a career year, putting up top-10-type statistics. Currently, even rookie guard Dion Waiters has missed the last three games with a knee injury and might be shut down for the season. The triage unit Cleveland is sending out there has now lost 6 straight games, including a buzzer beater defeat to the Celtics Wednesday night. With three starters out, the Cavaliers lineup now consists of Shaun Livingston, Wayne Ellington, Alonzo Gee, Tristan Thompson, and Tyler Zeller. It’s never a good thing when the majority of your starters peaked in college, and this line-up is certainly not striking fear in the hearts of the opposition.
Cleveland has the 5th-worst defense in the league, as they both allow the second-worst opponent eFG% in the NBA at 52.4%, and give up the fourth-highest opponent’s FTA rate. You can also hit the glass against them as opponents have the 5th-highest offensive rebounding rate against them. On top of their defensive liabilities, the team’s offensive prowess has taken a nosedive without Irving around to serve as the focal point of their attack. In the 7 most recent games Irving has been out, the offense has gone from slightly below average at 101.3, to an abysmal 96.1 rating, which would rank last in the league over the course of the season. The Cavaliers just don’t have much left to work with now that three of their top four players are injured.
Of the remaining crew for Cleveland, Tristan Thompson is a player who has greatly improved in his second season, averaging a double-double at 11.4 ppg and 9.3 rpg. Thompson is top 15 in the league in offensive-rebounding rate among players who play 20+ minutes per game, averaging 3.7 orpg; Thad Young will need to concentrate on keeping a body on him at all times. From the outside, Ellington (39.0%) and C.J. Miles (38.5%) are the Cavs’ only above-average three-point shooters on the floor. Neither of these guys are especially threatening without Irving around to draw the defense’s attention and kick out.
Keys to the Game:
- Get out to an early lead. The Sixers came out against the Bucks with a ton of energy in building an 18-point second quarter lead, before the Bucks fought their way back into the game. Unlike Milwaukee, though, Cleveland has nothing left to play for at this point of the season, and are unlikely to make their way back from any sizable deficit.
- Jrue Holiday needs to dominate this game with Kyrie Irving missing in action. As the only all-star taking the floor for either team, these are the types of games Holiday should rise up and take control. He will be guarded by Shaun Livingston, who has done an admirable job bouncing back from one of the most gruesome injuries in NBA history, but is nothing more than a role player at this point of his career. Holiday should be able to get into the lane at will against Livingston, and with the Cavaliers having the second-worst block rate in the league, Holiday should finish at the rim on command.
Prediction:
Cleveland takes the floor without their blue-chip superstar, their emerging rookie guard, and their best interior defender and rebounder. While we have seen the Sixers lose these types of games to inferior opponents all season, the last two and a half weeks have mostly seen a different Philadelphia squad out on the court. The Sixers earn a rare road victory in dispatching the short-handed Cavaliers.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
