Saturday, October 8
? 7:30 PM EST
? @TheQArena, Cleveland, OH
? @FOXSportsOH & @NBATV
? @wtam1100, @WMMS, y La Mega 87.7FM
– Cavs (1-0, pre-season): After an impressive 117-102 victory over the Orlando Magic in their preseason opener on Wednesday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers are now set to host the Philadelphia 76’ers inside Quicken Loans Arena for a Saturday night show-down.
Cleveland’s talented young players and camp invites will be seeking continued success after their performances in the Cavs’ preseason opening match-up against Orlando.
Jordan McRae led all Cleveland scorers on Wednesday night with 20 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in 24 minutes of play.
Rookie Kay Felder also turned quite a few heads in his first game as a professional, notching 14 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in his 23 minutes of playing time.
In a post-win locker room, LeBron James had high praise for McRae and Felder. After (((belting out the chorus))) of the Jefferson’s theme song from across the room to McRae during interviews, James spoke more seriously to the media with regards to Cleveland’s young talent, saying:
“We’re a team with big aspirations, but we want to continue to get better, and we’ve got time. We’ve got time to get better every single day and especially with the young guys, J-Mac and Kay.”
Cavs Head Coach Tyronn Lue echoed James’ opinions of Felder and McRae, saying, “Having those two young guys added to our old mix? It’s pretty good for us.”
* Cavs projected starting lineup (subject to change) *
Kyrie Irving (6′-3″, 193 lbs)
Iman Shumpert (6′-5″, 220 lbs)
LeBron James (6′-8″, 250 lbs)
Kevin Love (6′-10″, 238)
Chris Andersen (6′-10″, 245 lbs)
* Cavaliers injury report *
– (F/C) Tristan Thompson (foot soreness): Out
– (G) John Holland (back): Questionable
– Sixers (1-1, pre-season): Philadelphia will be coming into tonight’s match-up in Cleveland fresh off a 125-119 double-overtime loss to the Washington Wizards on Thursday night in their preseason home opener at The Wells Fargo Center.
After missing his first two NBA seasons due to a nagging foot injury, 7′-2″ center Joel Embiid has returned to action and is ready to prove his worth to the Sixers organization.
In the loss to Washington, Embiid put up five points, three rebounds, and one block in his 14 minutes of playing time.
6′-10″ Croatian guard/forward, Dario Śarić, who was aquired by the Sixers in a 2014 draft day trade, has now joined Philadelphia’s talented young team after spending the last two years playing basketball in Turkey with Anadolu Efes.
Šarić notched 14 points, four rebounds, and one steal on 18 minutes in Thursday night’s loss to the Wizards.
Over his four-year stint with Sixers, Head Coach Brett Brown has dealt with a myriad of injuries to his team, including Philadelphia’s promising No. 1 overall selection from last year’s NBA Draft, Ben Simmons.
Simmons, 20, has been recovering from a broken bone in his right foot and did not participate in Philadelphia’s preseason home opener on Wednesday night. Official reports indicate that Simmons will be in recovery for a few months after going through surgery to repair an acute Jones fracture on Tuesday.
* Sixers projected starting lineup (subject to change) *
T.J. McConnell (6′-2″, 200 lbs)
Gerald Henderson (6′-5″, 215 lbs)
Robert Covington (6′-9″, 215 lbs)
Dario Šarić (6′-10″, 223 lbs)
Joel Embiid (7′-2″, 250 lbs)
* Philadelphia injury report *
– (PG) Jerryd Bayless (wrist): Out
– (PG) T.J. McConnel (knee): Probable
– (PG) Anthony Barber (wrist, hand): Probable
– (SG) Nick Stauskas (left hamstring strain): Questionable
– (SG) Brandon Paul (knee contusion): Probable
– (SF) Ben Simmons (Jones fracture): Out
– (PF) Richaun Holmes (ankle sprain): Probable
– (C) Nerlens Noel (strained groin): Out
– (C) Jahlil Okafor (knee): Out
* All stats and information via www.basketball-reference.com, www.rotoworld.com, www.nba.com, www.espn.com, Elias Sports Bureau, and The Associated Press *
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