Jarrett Allen, Cleveland Cavaliers. (Photo by Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports)

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been on a roll, and after winning their seventh straight game at home on Wednesday against the San Antonio Spurs, Cleveland moved to 34-21. The Cavaliers are currently second in the Eastern Conference, and the club got an offensive boost from recently trading for Caris LeVert from the Indiana Pacers.

It’s still going to take time to get LeVert acclimated, and in his first two games with Cleveland, he’s first come off the bench and then started on Friday at Indiana, with Isaac Okoro sticking at the starting 2 in both. LeVert and the team had their issues early, as the Pacers, with help from their new trade additions, jumped out to a 47-28 lead after the first quarter.

The Cavaliers tightened the screws from there, fortunately, and kept climbing their way back, and LeVert’s clutch fourth quarter scoring, and some nice playmaking throughout, led to a Cleveland comeback win.

We’ll have to see what LeVert’s role is going forward, but either way, I’m sure he will get plenty of opportunities.

Next up for the Wine and Gold (35-21) is the second leg of a road back-to-back, with this go-round at the new-look Philadelphia 76ers (33-22), who recently acquired James Harden in a trade most notably featuring Ben Simmons going to the Brooklyn Nets, along with Seth Curry and other reported pieces. This is the second leg of a back-to-back for fifth-seeded Philadelphia, too; their defense got the job done at home versus the Oklahoma City Thunder in a win.

Harden, who is dealing with a hamstring, probably won’t be in action against Cleveland here, but this is the first of four meetings between these teams in the regular season. And with them so close in the conference standings, these will be crucial games against Joel Embiid, Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey and company.

As we alluded to, this Cavs-Sixers matchup will likely be without Harden in the fold, which obviously makes for a much different game. It’ll take some time to get him going within their offensive dynamic, and we’ll have to see how he meshes with Embiid, Harris and Maxey, a young guard who looks to have legit star potential.

From the Cavaliers’ perspective, though, it’s uncertain as to whether they’ll have Darius Garland involved, as he missed all of Cleveland’s games last week due to lower back soreness, and he missed Friday’s game against Indiana. Garland did play against San Antonio, and he’s considered day-to-day, but I could foresee Cleveland going with LeVert once again filling in as a de facto starting 1 here as well.

Regardless, with both teams being strong on the interior, and defensively, generally, this one could come down to bench play, and this figures to be a game of runs, I’d imagine. It could very well come down to the wire, anyway, and free throws should be crucial.

According to our partners at WynnBet, the 76ers are favored by 4.0 over the Cavaliers here.

As far as the over/under, that’s set for 206.5 for both at the moment, with that for Philadelphia being set for 105.5 and for Cleveland at 101.5.

Sixers starters: Tyrese Maxey, Matisse Thybulle, Furkan Korkmaz, Tobias Harris, Joel Embiid

Cavs starters: Caris LeVert/Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro/Caris LeVert, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Sixers injuries: James Harden (doubtful, hamstring); Paul Millsap (out, trade pending).

Cavs injuries: Lauri Markkanen (out, ankle); Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Darius Garland (questionable, back).

The Cavs might be without Garland again here, and we could seemingly see LeVert once again fill in at the starting 1 for the Wine and Gold. With that being the case, one would assume he’ll draw the likes of Thybulle, one of the NBA’s best defenders, for extended stretches.

That is a whole different ball game than say, Friday’s matchups, and the Cavs are going to need to find ways to get LeVert some other off-ball looks here, but hopefully, he still can help open up other guys, as he is still a capable playmaker. That’s more of what I’d look for here.

In regards to the other spots, and particularly the bigs, even with Allen’s stout defense and Evan Mobley/others as rotators, handling with Embiid is a tall order for anybody, and the Cavs will have to stay out of notable foul trouble here. It’s difficult to say whether that’ll be the case for Allen, especially.

Meanwhile, offensively, Mobley, who could be hitting the rookie wall on that end of the floor (not defensively), needs to stay patient, let the game come to him, and I believe he can still get plays to go off the bounce. His secondary playmaking could be a way to give the squad a lift here as well, and I’ll be looking out for that, which could help out Isaac Okoro as a cutter, and the likes of Dean Wade, along with Cedi Osman, who figures to be a key shooting threat in bench minutes.

For the game overall, however, it could end up being on the lower scoring end of things for stretches, with the defense of both teams at the forefront here, and with both Harden and seemingly potentially Garland out.

For the prediction, I’ll go with the Sixers, but I will actually take the over as that’s a low mark. The Cavs cover though, and go to 36-20-1 against the spread this season.

This first matchup between the Cavaliers and Sixers can be seen for those subscribed and in-market on Bally Sports Ohio and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

For fans without those options in-market or out of market, or as an alternative, NBA League Pass will do the trick for those subscribed.

After this Philly game, the Cavaliers will have their third game against the Atlanta Hawks this season on Tuesday, of four contests. This one will be their first meeting in Atlanta this season, with the two teams splitting their meetings in Cleveland.

Following that game, which is the last for Cleveland prior to them hosting the All-Star break, the Cavs will start out post-All-Star play at the Detroit Pistons on Feb. 24. The Wine and Gold will be looking to avenge their last loss at the Pistons nearly a couple of weeks back, which was a disappointing L at a team near the bottom of the league and in the early stages of a full-rebuild.

From there, the Cavaliers will take on the the Washington Wizards for the fourth and final time this season, with that one being at home. The Cavs will look to even up the season series between the two clubs.

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