and he's bringing a 9-game win streak with him.
The Sixers will face a red hot Cavaliers team tonight at 8 p.m. in Philly. The late start is because the game will be aired nationally on ESPN. The Cavs come into the game with a sparkling 18-3 record, although they've had somewhat of a cream puff schedule. Their three losses came to Boston, New Orleans and Detroit. Only four of their 18 wins have come against playoff teams from last season (Utah, Dallas, Toronto and Atlanta).
After the jump we'll take a look at the Cavs most-popular rotations and how the Sixers can match up.
The LeBrons run with their starting lineup about 33% of the time. Here are the defensive match-ups I think the Sixers will use:
- Mo Williams - Andre Miller
- Delonte West - Thaddeus Young
- LeBron James - Andre Iguodala
- Ben Wallace - Elton Brand
- Zydrunas Ilgauskus - Samuel Dalembert
The big mismatch here is Thad on Delonte, but I can't see Mo putting Thad on LeBron from the get-go. Those two will probably switch back and forth, but I have to think Iggy has a better chance to at least bother LeBron. Thad doesn't have the strength, yet.
On the other side of the floor, Delonte is going to have to guard either Iggy or Thad, that's a mismatch. Miller should be able to take Mo Williams down to the blocks. This is nothing new, the Sixers have had these mismatches all year long and they've rarely gone to them. EB is expected to play, although he may wish he hadn't. He's going to have length on him all night long, which should hamper his low-post game. His best chance to get the ball at the elbow in pick and pop opportunities.
The Cavs' second most-popular unit is a bit of a surprise. They spend 10% of their minutes with LeBron at the 4, I think. Here's the lineup, and the match-ups I'd like to see Mo counter with.
- Delonte West - Andre Miller
- Daniel Gibson - Lou Williams
- Wally Szczerbiak - Thad Young
- LeBron James - Andre Iguodala
- Anderson Varejao - Elton Brand
When the Cavs go to this lineup, the Sixers need to attack the tin. Anderson Varejao is a hustle guy and a tenacious rebounder, but he doesn't block many shots. Most of the time he'll plant himsef in the lane and flop. Without Big Ben and Z in there, the Sixers should be super-aggressive. There are a couple of other ways to attack this lineup, you could sub in Donyell for Lou, let Donyell guard Wally on the perimeter and light them up, or you could put Speights in and overwhelm them with size. Speights could guard the slow-footed Szczerbiak on the perimeter without a problem. Interesting small lineup they've been leaning on quite a bit, I hope Mo has been studying this stuff and has a counter in mind.
With EB back, it'll be interesting to see what Mo does with his rotations. Donyell has obviously earned some regular minutes. I'm not sure he should be in there at the end of the game, but during that stretch in the beginning of the second quarter when Mo likes to empty the bench would be a nice time to see Donyell. It's also about time we got a longer look at Kareem Rush.
The tip is at 8, on ESPN. The last live blog resulted in a loss, so we won't do one tonight, but I will be watching so leave your thoughts in the comments throughout.
West is out.
Lebron actually spends close to half his time on the court at the 4. They have been working him at the 4 into their rotations for a few seasons now. As of now, he plays 4/7 of his time at the 4 according to 82games with a whopping +31.6 PER per 48 differential at the 4, which is plain ludicrous. His per 36 numbers at the 4 according to 82games is roughly 33 and 9 with an eFG% of 57.4%, which would mean he is shooting like 55% or better from the field. Those numbers are just funny.
He at the 4 and Varejo at the 5 is a cool lineup IMO as well. Varejo is told to take charges, defend the bigger guy, and rebound on both sides which are his specialties. He never has to leave the paint essentially.
I'm gonna cut out of work early tonight I think and hopefully catch the 2nd half of this one.
Ben, really? I read that Gibson is out, West too? Good break.
You sure West is out... I'm not seeing it anywhere really.
I hate Varejao, flopping bitch.
I read it a libertyballers. I have been looking around though and your right, i dont see it anywhere. Maybe he confused west with Gibson.
Must have. Gibson is frail, man.
Lebron and Kobe are easily the 2 best players in the game. Lebron just keeps getting better...when all is said and done he may go down as the greatest player ever....even better than Jordan.
What about Chris Paul and Dwight Howard?
I'd rather have Paul than Kobe. Thats for sure.
give me howard and i would be happy.
Willie is starting over Thad tonight.
There you have it...Andre Miller posts up a smaller defender.
Ben, you didn't hear that Delonte West thing from me ;).
And I hate Willie, but like the lineup.
what do you guys think about the suns and Bobcats trade,Larry can't seem to coach talented players.
Brian, good to see Mo call that timeout at the end of the half there to go with the substitutions putting Lou and Donyell in even though we didn't score.
Keep chewing that gum Elton. Seems like the only thing you can do tonight.
Not Miller/Iguodala - 3/23 from the field right now. Nice.
EB looks like he needs some time on the inactive list. Very little lift, no explosion. And Mo should have pulled the trigger on him earlier and put Speights in instead of with 3 minutes left in the third.
Ugh, not being able to use that reply button is killing me. Hopefully the new design will be up tomorrow night.
Anyway, here goes:
@AllPhillySports: The trade seems stupid from Charlotte's perspective to me.
@Bryon: That was a good move by Mo. They even got the three for Donyell, right? He just missed it.
@Joe: Iguodala was on fire in the first half, then a non-factor in the second. Bad coaching? Not enough aggression on his part? Good defense by the Cavs? All three?
@Bryon again: EB looked glued to the floor tonight, especially on defense. The hammy has to be bothering him. Before the injury he would've blocked three or four shots in this game. Instead, he never even got off the floor to challenge them.
It probably doesn't help that Mo has him sprinting all over the court to run that stupid pick and roll play that never works. I was getting tired watching him, and it completely takes him out of the offense. A play like that you run when it's working. If it isn't, put it in your back pocket and get him the ball in the post. Stubborn, stupid coaching.
@Graham: And I bet he score too, didn't he.
@Ben: I'd take Paul, Kobe or LeBron over Howard, maybe a couple other guys too. He's awesome, but or some reason he doesn't really worry me when you play Orlando. When he can score 30 on you in the low post I'll put him in that league, right now I don't think his offensive game is developed enough to warrant including him on that list.