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The Cleveland Cavaliers play a second straight game tonight vs. the Philadelphia 76ers and the Cavs will be without LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love. Iman Shumpert won't play either. That means we could watch the Cavs roll out a a starting five of Mo Williams, J.R. Smith, Richard Jefferson, James Jones and Timofey Mozgov. More importantly, the Cavs will get a look at the likes of Quinn Cook and Austin Daye, the players most likely to land the final sport on the roster.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Philadelphia 76ers
When: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Where to watch: Fox Sports Ohio
Enemy blog: Liberty Ballers
Music: Future featuring Drake - Where Ya At
The 76ers are still bad, but are getting more interesting
Baring something crazy happening, the 76ers are going to be bad again this year but they are getting more interesting and there are a number of number of young players to watch on the roster. It's still an odd mix - for instance, Philadelphia's best two point guards are both coming off Achilles injuries - but it's still interesting.
The two most interesting pieces - aside from injured center Joel Embiid, for instance - are Nerlans Noel and Jahil Okafor. Both are still raw, but they theoretically compliment each other perfectly. Noel, while raw on offense, flashed glimpses of a potentially scary good defensive game last season. Okafor, while a rookie, comes into the league with a polished, expansive post game. These guys might not be good this year, but this is a look at what might be the base of Philadelphia's slow rebuild.
A quick update on the battle for the Cavs' final roster spot
Here's a quick breakout of those likely to be considered for the final roster spot:
- Guard Quinn Cook: 15 minutes, 2 points, 1-3 shooting, 4 assists
- Center Chris Johnson: 8 minutes, 3 points, 2 blocks
- Austin Daye: 10 minutes, 12 points, 3 rebounds, 4-6 shooting from deep
- Jared Cunningham: 17 minutes, 10 points, 3 assists
- Nick Minnerath: DNP
- D.J. Stephens: DNP
It's just a guy feeling, but the race doesn't feel like it's between anyone other than Cook, Daye and Cunningham. We'll have more on this soon.
On LeBron resting
Does it suck that LeBron and the rest of the 'Big Three' aren't going to play? But this is preseason basketball. LeBron doesn't need to play. He should just rest, not play any back-to-back's and just get ready for the season by staying fresh. Plus, it lets us get a better look at the likes of Daye and Cook. Right now, that has more value than LeBron playing 25 or so minutes just because he can.
Prediction
The Cavs are going to not play their best players. 76ers 98, Cavs 95.