Cavaliers at 76ers
The dream season for the Cleveland Cavaliers has quickly turned into a nightmare, but it could still get worse with a loss Monday night at the Philadelphia 76ers. The Cavaliers are without leading scorer LeBron James (lower back/left knee strains), and second-leading scorer Kyrie Irving departed Sunday’s loss against the Dallas Mavericks with lower-back stiffness and won't play against the 76ers. Even without those two, Kevin Love & Co. should be enough to beat the four-win 76ers.
Some good news came out of Sunday’s loss to Dallas, and that was the first 30-point game for Love in a Cleveland uniform. He might need to average 40 points over the next week if Irving joins James on the sideline for an extended period. Following this game, the Cavaliers face the Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors in the first of six straight games against Western Conference foes.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN Ohio (Cleveland), CSN (Philadelphia)
ABOUT THE CAVALIERS (19-15): A.J. Price likely will get first shot at the starting point guard spot against the 76ers. He’s been on the NBA bubble since he was selected in the second round of the 2009 Draft and was already waived once by the Cavaliers this season. He played 10 games with the Indiana Pacers in November and twice scored more than 20 before they had to cut him loose to free up a roster spot and Cleveland quickly reclaimed him.
ABOUT THE 76ERS (4-28): Consistency in his shooting stroke still is a major issue, but Tony Wroten continues to play like one of the most improved players this season. The third-year shooting guard has combined for 55 points in the last two games to bump up his scoring average to 17.3, a nice lift from the 13 he averaged last season and the 2.6 as a rookie with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2012-13. If there’s an area he needs to build on, it’s his 3-point shooting, which sits at 24.3 percent for his career, though he still attempts 4.7 a game this season.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The 76ers have 18 losses by at least 25 points over the last two seasons and the Los Angeles Lakers are the next closest with 10.
2. 76ers G Michael Carter-Williams, the team’s second-leading scorer (15.2) is expected to return after sitting out Saturday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers with a sore shoulder.
3. Cleveland SG Dion Waiters is a Philadelphia native who scored 13 points in 15 minutes in his last game in Philadelphia before suffering a knee injury on a slam dunk that kept him out the next seven games.
PREDICTION: Cavaliers 88, 76ers 85