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For the second time this season, the Philadelphia 76ers and Cleveland Cavaliers will go head-to-head on Friday night. The 76ers pulled out an impressive comeback victory the first time around, and they'll look to move to 2-0 on the season against Cleveland with another win.
There will be some added stakes this time around, as the meeting is an NBA Cup Group Stage game. The Sixers are 1-0 in cup play so far, while Friday night will represent the first cup game of the season for Cleveland.
Heading into the contest, let's look at how the two starting lineups stack up against each other.
When it comes to point production from the starting unit, the 76ers have the clear advantage over the Cavaliers.
As a unit, Philadelphia's first five is scoring 88.9 points per performance, which is the second-highest total in the entire NBA. Only the Los Angeles Lakers' starting unit is scoring more points per game than Philly's. Their offensive rating of 79.5 is fourth league-wide.
Meanwhile, the Cavs' starting unit is scoring 82.8 points per game, which is ninth-best in the league, while their offensive rating of 74.1 is 13th. They're certainly not slouches on the offensive end, but the Sixers have the advantage.
While the Sixers have the overall offensive advantage, the Cavs have the advantage when it comes to shooting. Cleveland's starters are in the top 10 of three-pointers made per game with 9.0, while the Sixers are all the way down at 25th with 7.2.
Cleveland's starters are also converting long-range shots at a higher percentage than the Sixers as they're making 38 percent of their attempts, compared to just 32 percent for Philly. They also have the edge in true shooting percentage and effective field goal percentage.
Philadelphia's first five has displayed some impressive ball movement early this season. The group is averaging 22.8 assists per performance, which leads the NBA.
Almost every player in Philly's starting group is a capable passer. In fact, every Sixers starter is averaging at least three assists per game this season.
Meanwhile, the Cavs rely more heavily on a couple of players (James Harden and Donovan Mitchell) to generate scoring opportunities for others.
Defense has been the calling card for Philadelphia early in the season. Just ask LeBron James.
"Our defense is going to be our identity," James said following Philadelphia's victory over Detroit on Wednesday night. "We have a lot of scoring. Obviously, we know that from individuals, but we're still figuring that side of the floor out on the offense side. But defensively, that's where we're going to make our mark. It's the point of attack. It's us communicating, it's us helping one another."
Technically, Cleveland's starters and Philly's starters have the exact same defensive rating so far this season (74.2), but the Sixers are forcing more steals per game. Philly's starting group also leads the league in defensive rebounds per game with 25.8.
As will be the case in most games this season, unless they're missing key contributors, the Sixers will have the advantage when to comes to the starting lineup. Philly boasts arguably the most potent first fives in the entire league, on both sides of the ball, and the unit is expected to be at full strength on Friday night.