Place: The Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA
Time: 7:00 p.m. EST
TV/Radio: WUAB Ch.43/WTAM 1100

Cavaliers Projected Starters:

PG: Kevin Ollie
SG: LeBron James
SF: Eric Williams
PF: Carlos Boozer
C:  Zydrunas Ilgauskas

Cavaliers Injury Report: C Ruben Boumtje-Boumtje (ankle sprain) and SF Jason Kapono (knee tendinitis) are on the injured list.  PG Jeff McInnis (bruised shoulder) is doubtful and C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (broken nose) will play.

76ers Projected Starters:

PG: Eric Snow
SG: Aaron McKie
SF: John Salmons
PF: Kenny Thomas
C:  Samuel Dalembert

76ers Injury Report: C Todd MacCulloch (foot neuropathy), SF Glenn Robinson (elbow surgery) and PF Derrick Coleman (knee tendinitis) are on the injured list.  SG Allen Iverson (knee synovitis) and PF/C Marc Jackson (foot sress reaction) are out.

Key Matchups:

LeBron James vs. Aaron McKie - Illness or not LeBron James' defense has been horrid the last three games.  Teams are just running him into simple screens and he has either been lazy by going under the screen or simply not fighting hard to get through it.  It has led to teams shooting wide open jumpers and offensive players getting into the lane breaking down the defense.  SG Aaron McKie, although slowing down overall, is having one of his better shooting years.  He is among the league leaders in three point FG% at 44% and has been a Cavaliers killer in the past.  Philadelphia will run him off the standard NBA baseline screens as well as post him up a la a Michael Finley.  A good and crafty ballhandler McKie will put the ball on the floor and go to the basket if he has a step on his defender.  McKie also like the sidelines and corners for his three pointers and his teammates will find him there off penetration and scramble plays.  Defensively, James has to come with more intensity and effort.  He has simply been Lamond Murray-like defensively.  It's about effort when fighting through screens and he must get back to playing the passing lanes and being up into offensive players his size.  Offensively, James must get back to the aggressive, reckless abandon attacking the basket style he displays when at his best.  Lately, he has been letting defenders angle him off and steer him where they want him to go.  He must instead dictate to the defense.  McKie has been one of better defenders in the NBA the past few years and James must be careful with the dribble around McKie and when he shows the ball as McKie is pretty good at slapping down at the ball.

Carlos Boozer vs. Kenny Thomas - The no. 2 culprit to blame for the bad defense the past three games has been Boozer. His numbers have been good but he is getting beat individually and been slow reacting in help situations.  He will be facing a similar style player in Kenny Thomas who has been the Sixers main scoring option with the injuries to Allen Iverson and Glenn Robinson.  Thomas, at an undersized 6'7, has been very good since the All Star break averaging 17 ppg and 11 rpg and scoring 20 points or more nine times and 13 ppg 10 rpg for the season.  He is very active wide body with quick feet which makes him a good rebounder and dangerous on the offensive boards.  Thomas has a good first step for a big man and will face up defenders in the midrange go off the dribble.  He also has a nice jump hook in the post and range out to about 18 feet on the jumper.  Defensively, Boozer first has to make sure he keeps a body on Thomas as he won't go over the top to get rebounds but rather his activity and width.  When Thomas faces in the midrange area Boozer must angle him towards his help and not be a swinging gate.  Thomas is a smart player who has learned how to be effective against bigger players let alone PFs his size.  Transition defense will be a key as well since Thomas will run the floor and trail when the Sixers run.

When the Cavaliers have the ball: First quarters which had been a boon to the Cavaliers during their winning streak have become a detriment the last 3 games.  They are giving up more points, having more turnovers, allowing a high FG% and have been falling behind by an average of about ten points.  Couple that with a bench that has ranged from inconsistent to bad and it has been a recipe for disaster.  Not having a McInnis or a healthy McInnis has changed the way teams defend the Cavaliers.  The Cavaliers aren't able to play as fast, teams don't respect their outside game and pack it inside.  Cleveland has been getting next to nothing from their perimeter players.  James has been struggling and Ollie, Williams, Newble and Wagner have been flat out nonproductive.  James must reemerge as a perimeter force and someone else must stop up beyond a 7 point 3 rebound performance without McInnis.  With the Sixers injuries they are playing a lot of inexperienced players which can show defensively.  Cleveland should look to go early inside to Eric Williams against the slight of build John Salmons and hopefully get Williams untracked for an entire game.  The Cavaliers strength now is their inside game so expect them to go early to Ilgauskas to get him some confidence with his protective mask against Dalembert who is very athletic but lacks bulk.

When Philadelphia has the ball: The Sixers are obviously a different team without Allen Iverson.  And unlike the Cavaliers young players the Sixers have stepped up and played major roles in keeping Philadelphia in the playoff hunt. Rookie SG Willie Green has had 18 & 19 points off the bench in the last two Sixers win.  John Salmons had 21 points in a win against Dallas.  They are spearheaded now by PG Eric Snow who is now in the role of veteran mentor and he sets the tone defensively and runs the show even more without Iverson.  There are stretches when the Sixers move the ball better without Iverson and they get a lot more players involved.  They have some young players in Green and Salmons who can break down the defense and get to the rim.  Expect to see a large dose of Kenny Thomas against Boozer and the Cavaliers must rotate down when Ilgauskas goes to help and Dalembert dives to the rim.  Dalembert gets the majority of his points on offensive rebounds, dump offs and lobs.  Philadelphia is still a team that gets out and run off of their defense so the Cavaliers will have to take care of the ball.

Game outlook: The situation is becoming dire for the Cavaliers.  They need a win in the worst way and are banged up along with lacking confidence.  Paul Silas must regroup his troops and make a concerted effort to refocus defensively.  The 76ers will be no gimme and the Cavaliers have no gimme games on their schedule.  Philadelphia is 8-2 when playing without Iverson and Robinson and are 6-1 in their last 7 games without Iverson.  The Sixers will continue to play hard regardless of their personnel.  How the Cavaliers start the game defensively will indicate if they will be able to break their 3 game losing streak.