By Sean Kennedy
With the trade deadline Thursday, tonight’s game against the Cavaliers likely represents the last time we’ll see the current iteration of the Sixers roster in action. Cleveland star Kyrie Irving received All-Star Game MVP honors over the weekend, scoring 31 points and 14 assists. His experience in a game where defense is considered optional should serve him well tonight against the Sixers. Philadelphia has lost two of three meetings against Cleveland thus far this season. In one loss, Irving hit a game-winner in double overtime as part of a 39-point performance, while the other defeat saw C.J. Miles hit a career-high 10 threes in the contest.
Still, Cleveland is embroiled in as much turmoil as any team in the NBA. Reports came out earlier this month of players being thrown out of practice, players taking their jerseys off at halftime and refusing to re-take the court, and other tales of general discord. The Sixers’ old friend Andrew Bynum was apparently taking shots from anywhere on the court when he touched the ball in scrimmages, as part of his antics leading up to his suspension and eventual trade for Luol Deng. Basically, the Cleveland team has been more dysfunctional than the District 5 team before Coach Gordon Bombay shows up. Someone had to pay for all the conflict, and with Mike Brown on a 5-year, $20 million deal, GM Chris Grant was the more financially viable fall guy.
As for the game, Anderson Varejao won’t travel with the team due to a variety of minor injuries to the knee, back, and wrist. Even with the big man missing the past few games and the walking-on-eggshells atmosphere in the locker room, Cleveland has pulled off 4 straight victories, as they make a push to get back into the playoff picture. Hopefully, Michael Carter-Williams picked up some tricks from the big boys during All-Star weekend and we’ll be in for a exciting battle between two exciting point guards.
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