Philadelphia 76ers Preview: 5 Things to Watch For Against Cleveland Cavaliers

The Philadelphia 76ers will host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Wells Fargo Center, with the tip slated for 7:00 p.m.

The King will soon be in Philadelphia.

LeBron James and the reigning NBA Champion Cleveland Cavaliers will make their way to the City of Brotherly Love to face off with the Philadelphia 76ers for a Saturday evening matchup (tipoff 7:00 p.m.) at the Wells Fargo Center on Nov. 5.

The Cavs, who are the favorites to represent the Eastern Conference in the upcoming NBA Finals, are undefeated at 5-0 this season.

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Along with James, Cleveland has All-Stars Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving, as well as a solid core of Tristan Thompson, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, Channing Frye and a handful of other decent role-players.

The Sixers, on the other hand, are winless at 0-4 and are not expected to be a playoff contender.

While Joel Embiid looks like a star, and Dario Saric coming off of back-to-back solid performances, the Sixers don’t match up well with the Cavaliers at all (few teams do, in Philly’s defense).

It’ll be a classic tale of David vs. Goliath, but there will be plenty to watch for throughout the game.

1 – How do the Sixers Contain LeBron James?

First things first, the Philadelphia 76ers will have to ask themselves the same question that every team in the league has asked since James entered the league in 2003:

How do you contain a player of his caliber?

Well, the short answer: you can’t — He’s just too damn good at basketball.

That being said, Sixers coach Brett Brown has been preaching that he wants his team to build a defensive identity this year, and Saturday will be their toughest defensive test of the young season.

We’ll see if Brown can draw anything up to keep the 76ers competitive.

It should also be fun to see if Embiid spends any one-on-one time matched up against James, and if he does, expect the crowd on hand at the Wells Fargo Center to get loud.

There won’t be an empty seat in the house as King James takes his talents to Philly.

2 – Can the Sixers be Competitive on the Boards?

Between Tristan Thompson, Kevin Love and LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers are among the better rebounding teams in the NBA.

To put it lightly, the Philadelphia 76ers are not one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA, and the glass-play could prove to be a key factor on Saturday night’s outcome.

The Cavs rank 12th in the league in rebound percentage (50.7 percent) while the Sixers rank 27th (46.8).

With Joel Embiid and Jahlil Okafor both still on minutes restrictions, Richaun Holmes will have to continue to pick up the slack in the front court.

If the 76ers want any shot at keeping the game competitive on Saturday, they’ll need to compete on the glass.

If they fail to do so, it’s hard to imagine anything but a blowout.

3 – Will Embiid Try to Dunk on LeBron?

Joel Embiid is arguably the most exciting player to wear a Philadelphia 76ers uniform since Allen Iverson, and there’s something very specific about him that helps him succeed:

His confidence.

In his first three NBA games, Embiid has gone up against some of the best defensive players that the league has to offer including Dwight Howard, Steven Adams and Bismack Biyombo, along with Andre Drummond in the preseason.

Embiid looked extremely confident against everyone he’s matched up against — calling for the ball on nearly every offensive possession — and it’s hard to imagine he’ll back down from James.

If the 7-2 rookie gets the opportunity to dunk on the reigning Finals MVP, could you imagine the atmosphere at the Wells Fargo Center if he succeeds?

On the contrary, the task is much easier said than done; remember LeBron’s block on Tiago Splitter from the 2013 NBA Finals? Just in case you don’t, check out the below video:

As previously stated, if Embiid attempts to dunk on the King and succeeds, the hometown crowd will go ballistic.

If he attempts and is rejected in the fashion that Splitter was in the NBA Finals a few years ago, you can expect to see a few dropped jaws in the stands.

Whether Embiid tries to or not, the anticipation will be exciting, and the possibility is something to keep in mind during Saturday’s contest.

4 – Can the Sixers contain Kyrie Irving?

Fresh off hitting one of the biggest 3-pointers in NBA Finals history, Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving is having a tremendous season.

Over Cleveland’s first five games, Irving is averaging a career-high (and team-best) 26 points to go along with 4.4 assists and 3.6 rebounds per contest. Irving has better handles than any other player in the entire league and lightning-quick speed that will keep Sergio Rodriguez, T.J. McConnell, Gerald Henderson and whoever else tries to guard him off balance all night.

From the Cavs’ most recent game, a 128-122 win over the Celtics on Thursday night, here’s Example A:

Simply put, the sixth-year, former first-overall pick out of Duke is going to be a problem for Philadelphia’s guards.

And Brett Brown’s going to have to get creative with his defensive-sets if he wants to contain Irving.

5 – Can the 76ers Win?

After the Philadelphia 76ers lost to the best regular-season team in the history of the NBA (Golden State Warriors) on an overtime near-buzzer-beater by Harrison Barnes last year, I’ll never say that any outcome on a basketball court is impossible.

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But a win on Saturday is highly improbable.

In order to win, the Sixers will have to make their open shots, contain LeBron James and Kyrie Irving (much easier said than done) and win the rebound-battle while limiting their mistakes. If there’s one team in the Eastern Conference that you cannot afford to shoot yourself in the foot against, it’s the Cavaliers.

On top of that, the Sixers will have to play near-perfect offensively and capitalize on every chance they get.

If Philadelphia can even remain somewhat competitive throughout the game, it would go a long way for the youngest roster in the NBA.

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If the Sixers somehow come out victorious, it would be a truly epic night at the Wells Fargo Center.