With Sheed calling in sick, Smokey takes over to hopefully make his deadline.

A year ago this would have been a top of the standings clash between two giants of the NLL. At the moment, Philly have come back from a horrible week one sitting 7-3 and the Cavs are lingering just outside the top 8 in the East with a 4-4 record. Now, although The Cavs are in an unfamiliar place in the standings, the season is still young, and Pistol is working hard to find the right mix of players to work in with King James to once again be a top team out East.

VT and his beloved Sixers had a week one they would rather forget. I can’t remember the last time they opened up the season with a 1-3 record? Or maybe I just wasn’t paying too much attention. They got the opening win against the Magic, but then went down to the Kings, The Lakers and the Celtics. Definitely not an easy week for any team by a long stretch. Since then, a couple of trade whispers and some frantic work behind the scenes from VT, the Sixers haven’t dropped a game. They have won 6 in a row and will tonight be aiming for win number 7 which will keep them within reach of the Bucks and the Knicks.

Pistolpk has had an up and down season so far. The team has had four wins against Boston, Atlanta, Utah and Chicago and their losses have come against Charlotte, Denver Indiana and Chicago. Pistol experimented with Serge Ibaka coming off the bench as a sixth man in week one, but not really getting the outcome that he had hoped Serge was back in the starting line-up for week 2. With Lebron james in your team The Cavs should really win more games than they lose this season but it’s a matter of finding the right balance on the court throughout the game. Can Pistol step up to the plate and deliver like the old Cavs GM did for so many years?

KEY MATCHUP:

Both teams have some serious talent when it comes to their starting line-up. There is not one matchup in tonight’s game that isn’t important. But looking a little deeper the key matchup on the court between the starters is Brandon Jennings Vs Damian Lillard.

Jennings has been a solid, yet sometimes selfish players in the NLL. He is one of them guys that needs to have the ball in his hands, and shoots at will, sometimes shooting the lights out. With Tony Parker out injured, it’s time for Jennings to step it back up to his former days and really take control along with James.  The Cavs point guard depth is not great, and Parker being out only makes this a tough position for the Cavs to cover, especially coming up against one of the best in the game.

As just stated, Lillard is one of the best point guards in the game. He scores, he passes extremely well and he chips in on the boards when required. He is a very important cog in a loaded starting line-up, and for every bad night he has, he would probably have 15 good ones.

It is going to be a very tough ask for Jennings to cover Lillard tonight, and it doesn’t get any easier with rookie Andrew Harrison coming off the bench behind him. If these two guys can limit lillard throughout the game then the Cavs have a chance to take control and win.