The Sixers (19-11) will be looking for redemption today against the Cavaliers (7-22) in Cleveland. The Cavs are one of only three teams to beat the Sixers at Wells Fargo Center.
Jimmy Butler is still questionable with a strained groin.
Here are the essentials for tonight’s matchup.
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• When: 3:30 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 3 p.m.
• Where: Quicken Loans Arena
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC Sports MyTeams app
Here are three storylines to watch for today's game.
Time for revenge?
The Sixers' first loss at home this season to the Cavaliers is clearly one that still stings, especially for Joel Embiid.
"We're going to go there with revenge," Embiid said. "We're going to want to punch them in the mouth because we lost against them, which shouldn't have happened."
Embiid is coming off consecutive first halves of 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds, albeit both losses. The Cavaliers will look to throw double teams at Embiid like they did in their first matchup and it sounds like Embiid is looking for blood.
Bench production
Remember that 18-5 Cavs run in the third quarter of their last matchup, led primarily by their bench, who scored all of their 28 points in the second half?
One thing Cleveland has going for it is a bench that can score. When the Sixers traded for Butler, they also gave up two of their integral players, so with one less guy on their roster, it makes sense the bench unit has had its struggles.
Since Nov. 10, the Sixers' bench is averaging 31.1 points (23rd) and 12.3 rebounds (29th), and those numbers have naturally gone down in the past two games without Butler (23 points, eight rebounds). Will we get a little bit more from the bench today?
Pre-mortems
I’m still reminded of one of the first things Brett Brown said after their loss to the Cavs: “You judge premortems … if we’re going to die, what’s it look like? I told you, we wouldn’t rebound, and we didn’t play defense.”
Cleveland had a 42-31 edge in rebounds, including a 14-4 advantage on the offensive glass — Tristan Thompson, who is out with an ankle sprain, had eight of them — and a 15-4 edge in second-chance points.
The Sixers are one of the better rebounding teams in the league. Their 47.4 rebounds per game average is sixth in the NBA. Will they show it today?
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