The Sixers (42-25) will look to get another home win against the Cleveland Cavaliers (17-50) on Tuesday night. Joel Embiid and Boban Marjanovic are both back in the lineup for the Sixers. The Cavaliers are on the second night of a back-to-back after a 25-point win over the Toronto Raptors.
Here are the essentials for tonight's game:
• When: 7 p.m. ET with Sixers Pregame Live at 6:30 p.m.
• Where: Wells Fargo Center
• Broadcast: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Live stream: NBCSportsPhiladelphia.com and the NBC MyTeams app
Here are three storylines to watch:
Boban's return
Tonight marks the first game for Marjanovic since injuring his knee a little over two weeks ago in New Orleans. Brown is still figuring out how best to use him in the rotation, especially come playoff time. In the seven games Boban has played for the Sixers, his presence has been felt, especially defensively. The Sixers have a 100.8 defensive rating when he is on the court, compared to 105.9 when he is off it.
James Ennis III
Philadelphia 76ers
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At Monday's practice we learned that Jimmy Butler will have a planned day of rest against Cleveland and Brett Brown says that he expects Ennis III to start in his place. Over his last three games, Ennis III is averaging 8.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game. Brown has consistently said that there is still a tournament (so to speak) going on between Ennis III and Jonathon Simmons for that backup wing spot. Ennis III will have a big platform tonight to show what he can do.
This one shouldn't be close….
With all due respect to the Cavaliers (who are also without Tristan Thompson, Larry Nance Jr., John Henson, Matthew Dellavedova and JR Smith), the Sixers are clearly the superior team and should come out with an attitude ready to show that. Sixers fans remember the disappointment in Wells Fargo Center the last time the Cavaliers were in town, and I'd expect the Sixers to come out with a mentality that lines up with them being the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.
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