Cavaliers vs. 76ers: Cleveland Will Miss Star Guard on Tuesday

The Cleveland Cavaliers will be shorthanded on Tuesday.

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Cleveland Cavaliers are set to battle it out for an In-Season Tournament matchup on Tuesday night.

For the most part, the Sixers are healthy heading into the matchup. For the second time in five games, Philadelphia’s star big man Joel Embiid has been left off the report after he’s been dealing with hip soreness. 

Aside from the Sixers’ two-way prospects, Kelly Oubre is the only one on the injury report, remaining out as he continues to heal up from a fractured rib.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, have a few key players who aren’t expected to compete on Tuesday night. According to Cleveland’s injury report, the veteran guard Ricky Rubio is not with the team. Therefore, his season debut remains on hold.

As for the veteran wing Isaac Okoro, his absence streak will remain in place. Okoro started the season in Cleveland’s starting five, making five straight starts. He came off the bench for 23 minutes in the November 3 matchup against the Indiana Pacers. After a five-point loss to Indiana, Okoro started recovering from a knee injury. He’s missed the previous seven matchups for the Cavs and will make it eight in a row on Tuesday.

Cleveland’s star guard Donovan Mitchell will be another notable loss for the Cavs. After straining his hamstring in the Cavs’ November 15 game against the Portland Trail Blazers, Mitchell went on to miss the next two games against the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. The All-Star won’t have the chance to return on Tuesday, as the Cavaliers ruled him out early. 

Lastly, Cleveland added the reserve Ty Jerome and the veteran Caris LeVert to the injury report. Jerome, who’s dealing with an ankle sprain, was ruled out early. Meanwhile, LeVert has been dealing with knee soreness and was considered questionable for the matchup throughout the day on Tuesday. Cleveland ruled out LeVert, who was considered a game-time decision before the matchup.

The Sixers and the Cavs will tip off at 7:30 PM ET.