The Cavs face the Sixers at an opportune time on Wednesday

The Cleveland Cavaliers face the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday in what is an opportune time to play a team that’s disappointed during this season overall.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have started 2-1 with J.B. Bickerstaff as their head coach, and they’ve shown more grit and toughness. The All-Star break I’m sure has helped, too, though.

Next up for Cleveland on the docket is a matchup with Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris and the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Wednesday.

Factoring in a few things, this is an opportune time/place for the Cavs to face Philly.

First off, the Sixers, for whatever reason, have been a completely different team on the road versus at home in this 2019-20 season.

At the friendly confines of their home Wells Fargo Center, here are Philly’s key statistics, according to NBA.com:

• A 27-2 record, which is the best home record in the league
• A 37.1 percent three-point shooting clip, which on the season, would be sixth-best in the NBA
• An offensive rating of 112.0, defensive rating of 102.0, and the third-best home net rating in the league of 10.0
• A true shooting clip of 57.9 percent, which is the eighth-best in the league at home

On the road, though, Philadelphia has been a totally different team, and I believe the Cavs, who are playing better, should have a legitimate shot at stealing one here.

Here’s Philly’s key road statistics, again, according to NBA.com:

• A 9-20 road record, which is 22nd in the league
• A three-point shooting clip of 33.6 percent, which is 26th in the league
• An offensive rating of 104.8 and a defensive rating of 110.4, and a net rating of minus-5.6, which is 24th in the NBA
• A true shooting clip of 53.9 percent, which is 25th in the league on the road

So, to me, while I of course am well-aware that the Cavaliers had one of their worst losses in franchise history, 141-94, earlier this season in Philly, the Sixers’ role pieces have played much better at home.

Hopefully, Cleveland’s key young pieces such as Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and Kevin Porter Jr., can get themselves going, and Cleveland can get the ball hopping to get Embiid fatigued more throughout the game. The Sixers’ length, factoring in Richardson and Matisse Thybulle on the perimeter, especially, will make it difficult to get driving buckets, but Kevin Love should have a favorable matchup a good bit against Tobias Harris, I’d imagine.

Along with that, Ben Simmons is expected to miss a few weeks due to a nerve impingement in his lower back, according to a report from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.

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While the Embiid-Simmons fit has had its share of skeptics with their perimeter shooting limitations and on-ball needs, Simmons is still an outstanding playmaker, as evidenced by him being fifth in the league this year in assists per game with 8.2, per NBA.com.

Against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a squad that obviously has played two small guards in Sexton and Garland together a considerable amount, Simmons’ size, strength and explosiveness at 6-foot-10 and 240 pounds would present a huge challenge for Cleveland as a point-forward.

Plus, even though bigger players, such as Cedi Osman and Larry Nance Jr. would likely be on Simmons a ton, as I’d expect, his quickness would likely negate their impact.

Furthermore, Simmons had his career-high with 34 points in that aforementioned beat-down handed to the Cavs by Philly in December, too (of which Simmons has since tied). Alfonzo McKinnie could help in that realm in defending Simmons, but luckily the Cavs don’t have to worry about that with Simmons; meanwhile, McKinnie is still out with reported plantar fasciitis in his left foot, too.

In this go-round, while I’d expect Josh Richardson to get his to an extent, and spot starter Shake Milton can provide some playmaking filling in at the 1 (and is a rock solid point-of-attack defender), the Cavaliers should be able to focus more attention on Embiid without Simmons’ drives, drive-and-kicks and post-ups.

Hopefully, in turn, less spot-ups for Furkan Korkmaz, who is shooting 39.6 percent from three-point range this year, Richardson, Alec Burks and/or Glenn Robinson III in some instances, will open up.

Thirdly, with Philly struggling offensively with Al Horford and Embiid on the floor together this season, as Lucas Johnson of The Sixer Sense detailed, and Horford essentially playing a backup 5 role more now, Love should be freed up more against Harris on the other end, where the inside-out game should bode well for Love.

Granted, Andre Drummond will reportedly be out for this game due to a calf strain, but Cleveland still at least has Tristan Thompson, who can hold his own in stretches, anyhow, and either way, with Horford and Embiid being anything but complementary offensively, I’d expect TT to get some minutes matched up with Horford.

Thompson has had tons of success in that matchup over the years, too, and I’d imagine Nance could hold his own and pressure Horford well on the perimeter to shut off passing lanes. Ante Zizic should be able to fill in in some spot minutes, too, and at least be competent as a roller, I would think.

Plus, with Philly being so less effective on the road, I’d expect Cleveland’s bench to have a solid impact, factoring in Nance and Porter, in particular.

Porter, who is fresh off a career-high 30-point performance against the Miami Heat in a thrilling comeback win on Monday of which KJG’s Corey Casey hit on, could also benefit from Philly not having Simmons in there as a primary defensive matchup for Porter in some instances.

Simmons is as versatile as it gets defensively on-ball, and with Cleveland’s struggles with turnovers, Simmons’ presence in passing lanes (the league leader in steals this season) and in pick-and-roll coverage could definitely make it tough for KPJ to get off good looks off the bounce.

Moreover, while I still wouldn’t predict an outright victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers here with Embiid still having so much gravity as a post player and on a dominant recent tear, Cleveland should cover the spread below, courtesy of The Action Network. The vast majority of public bets at The Action Network are going with the Sixers, but I see the Cavs as a solid play here to cover.

Anyhow, with the Sixers being such a Jekyll and Hyde act this year at home versus on the road, and with Simmons inactive, it’s an opportune time for the Cavs to face Philly.

Though I know it was a while ago, the Cavaliers did nearly steal one on the road at Philadelphia early on this season, too.

Plus, Cleveland is playing better with Bickerstaff at the helm, and I believe the Wine and Gold keeps this one close on Wednesday.