Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers Preview: Dion Waiters Goes Home

Hey, look, we'll finally be able to watch a basketball game in the year 2012. The Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Philadelphia Sixers tonight in Philly and believe it or not, this is their 2nd to last preseason game. The story lines that we've been following throughout the preseason haven't really changed, so that means we get to overanalyze the same things even more! Yay!

Who? Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers

When? 7:00 PM Eastern

Where? Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Where on my eyeballs? Fox Sports Ohio

Why? Watch the continued development of Tristan Thompson, Dion Waiters, Tyler Zeller, and Luke Harangody. Wait, what? Also, Waiters and Michael Eric are from Philly and get to play in front of their hometown fans. So that's cool.

I need a song to get me pumped for this game, can you help?

All The Pretty Girls -- Fun.

So, this basketball thing, huh? Think this could catch on? Like...on TV and stuff?

I'm glad you asked. Yes, I do think basketball could catch on and people would even be willing to watch it on their televisions. In fact, after not putting the past few games on TV, Fox Sports Ohio decided to realize that this is 2012. So that means you'll actually get some expert (hahahah) analysis from me about what goes on in tonight's game.

Obviously, all eyes are on Dion Waiters. That's what everybody focuses on and it should be no different tonight. We've seen how he has reacted to this focus in past games and it has produced varied results. At times he appears to be pressing and rushing things. At other times, he calms down and just lets his instincts and good playmaking abilities take over. With some friends and family undoubtedly at the game tonight, I'll be interested to see how he reacts. Will the added pressure of having loved ones at the game make him want to go off for 50 points? What will happen if he makes an obvious effort to score as much as possible? It could be ugly -- or it could be glorious.

Michael Eric is another Philly guy, but I have no idea if he'll actually get any playing time. Since this is the 2nd to last preseason game for the Cavaliers, Byron Scott told reporters that he's probably tightening up the rotations. I assume what we see tonight and next week against the Pacers will be similar to the Opening Night lineup. Therefore, it may be up to Eric and others (Jeremy Pargo, Kevin Jones, etc.) to make their impression during practice. Keep in mind that there are 2 more players that need to be cut before October 30th.

Kyrie Irving seemed to have gotten his groove back last game against the Orlando Magic, but he's the last guy that I'm worried about. He could go 0 for 12 and throw every shot over the backboard and I wouldn't be worried.

I think it'd be super neat if Tristan Thompson just dominated some fools again tonight. He bullied the Wizards but still showed the ability to explode to the rim and run the floor. I'm cautiously getting really excited about Tristan.

Although nothing is certain, I assume the starting lineup will stay the same tonight. Byron Scott seems to like Alonzo Gee's energy off the bench and will eventually have to make the decision between starting Gee or C.J. Miles. I think CJ has the lead and is most likely the starting small forward tonight.

Remember how we were going to trade for Andrew Bynum? Well it looks like we may have dodged a bullet on that one. He's having more knee problems and he hasn't played a game for the Sixers yet. It may be nothing serious, but it's probably not the headache that the Cavs wanted to deal with. We'll let the kind folks over at Liberty Ballers worry about that.

Oh yeah, David would get made if I don't mention Tyler Zeller. So....TYLER ZELLER.