Cleveland Cavaliers at Philadelphia 76ers Preview: Still Not Playing Defense

The Cleveland Cavaliers are not winning games, currently. They have lost five games in a row. I would appreciate if that streak would come to an end. They have played three home games and have played sixty four thousand road games. Naturally, they now play another road game.

Who? Cleveland Cavaliers (2-7) at Philadelphia 76ers (5-4)

When? 6:00 PM Eastern

Where? Wells Fargo Center -- Philadelphia, PA

Where on my eyeballs? Fox Sports Ohio/NBATV

Can I still get tickets? Yessir! Cleveland Cavaliers tickets.

Should I listen to music?

Game!

Here's what we know: 1) the Cavaliers do not know how to play defense and 2) the Browns will have lost again by the time this game starts.

The lack of defense is getting kind of hilarious. And by hilarious, I mean infuriating. It's the same thing every single game. They can't contain dribble penetration and then over-compensate and leave shooters open. Will the Cavs play defense tonight against the Sixers? I don't know. I hope so. Whatever.

Kyrie Irving is still amazing and should continue to be amazing. He didn't have a single assists against the Mavericks, but that's more a result of Anderson Varejao shooting an uncharacteristically bad 2 of 11 from the field. Irving was certainly his normal dynamic self on offense. He's 5th in the league in per game scoring.

The Cavaliers had been in talks about acquiring Andrew Bynum in the offseason before the Sixers got involved in the Dwight Howard blockbuster. Unfortunately for Philly (and Liberty Ballers), Bynum has not been healthy and is yet to play a single game in a Sixers uniform. It came out last night that Bynum got even more hurt when he went...bowling. That sucks for Philly, but it appears as though the Cavs dodged a bullet.

I like Jrue Holiday a lot. He's a really skilled point guard and he's really fun to watch. Most people don't hear much about The Jrueth. But I like him. Watch him play.

I wish the Cavs had gotten someone like Dorell Wright in the offseason. He's an example of how the Cavs can fix the bench in the summer. There seems to be guys like that that the Cavs should be able to sign and provide some depth/keep Luke Walton far away from the court. We've talked a lot about how the starters are playing as well as any other unit in the NBA, so once the bench gets fixed, I think the Cavs can be competitive. This team isn't THAT far away.

The Cavaliers had 14 of their shots blocked against the Mavs. I'd really love if that didn't happen tonight. Executing on defense and finishing shots around the basket would go a long way towards the Cavs winning this game. That's all I've really got. Enjoy the Browns and come watch the Cavs once the Browns disappoint you.

Fear the Sword's Fearless Prediction:

Ugh, I don't even know. I'll predict a win because I'm hopelessly optimistic. Cavs win 103-99.