76ers Have One Major Advantage Cavaliers Can't Prepare For

Following the Philadelphia 76ers' win against the New York Knicks, the team believes they have room for improvement. Those improvements must happen quickly as they prepare to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

This will be the first matchup between the two conference rivals and one many are looking forward to seeing. The 76ers bring in a new roster that the Cavaliers may not be prepared for. Not much has changed for Cleveland as they return with nearly the same players from a season ago. 

The 76ers learned quite a bit about themselves and understand that with this Cavalier team it’s going to come down to who has the better shooting night coupled with the least amount of turnovers. The 76ers struggled in the paint, and that could be a problem they face, having to go against Jarret Allen and Evan Mobley. Joel Embiid is going to look to have a better night, and it could start with his defense against the two centers from Cleveland.

The 76ers have the advantage offensively, as Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown could be the two leading scorers for the 76ers. They will need both to play well, as they go against the Cavaliers, who have Donovan Mitchell. Mitchell is someone who will score, and that could work in their favor.

If the focus shifts to Mitchell, it could cause a ripple in the Cavaliers offense. Expect James Harden to assume the LeBron James role where he’s going to look to get the rest of the team involved and only score when necessary. Comparing the benches, Philadelphia has the advantage. The 76ers bench struggled against the Knicks, but they can rebound as Anfernee Sijmons and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope are going to look to continue their scoring ways, as they were the only two bench players to score double figures.

Then there’s the X-factor of VJ Edgecombe and LeBron James. Edgecombe only had nine points, but they came at very key moments of the game. James had to play some center, as they have very little depth, but it worked in their favor. He kept Karl-Anthony Towns off the court and was able to be effective when called upon. This shows there will be changes on a nightly basis for James and his role within the team. So the scoring is going to depend heavily on the 76ers' starters as they face a team that was ranked number one in offense last season.

With the new additions, it could benefit the 76ers as they go against teams with high-powered offenses like the Cavaliers. It’s still unclear if Dean Wade can go against his former team, but if he can, it will be a major boost to Philadelphia’s bench.

The 76ers take on the Cavaliers at 7:00 PM ET.