LeBron returns to Cleveland in a Sixers jersey for Cup

LeBron James has already played a lifetime of Cleveland nights. Tonight is a new category: first regular-season game there in a Philadelphia 76ers jersey, on Prime Video, in Emirates NBA Cup East Group B.

The 76ers (8-1) visit the Cavaliers (4-4) at 7:30 p.m. ET from Rocket Arena. DraftKings has Philadelphia as a 2.5-point favorite with a 231.5 total. The NBA posted the arrival video, the 8-1 Cup notice and the "first Sixers game in Cleveland" frame before tip. Philadelphia leads the season series 1-0 after winning 114-106 on Oct. 22, when Tyrese Maxey and Donovan Mitchell each scored 32.

Sixers fans want a coronation road win for the East's best record. Cavs fans want Mitchell to own the building again. Cup trackers only care whether East Group B points start separating before Thanksgiving. Those arguments are colliding over a real game. Philadelphia is first in the East on a five-game streak. Cleveland is 4-4 and has lost two straight while allowing 117.1 points a night.

The basketball problem for Cleveland is depth and the visitors' assist column. LeBron leads the Sixers at 7.4 assists. Maxey averages 28.0 points. Joel Embiid averages 10.0 rebounds. Mitchell still leads Cleveland at 22.5 points, and Evan Mobley still leads the glass at 8.2, but Jaylon Tyson is out and several other Cavaliers are day-to-day, per ESPN's injury report.

The basketball problem for Philadelphia is the building. Rocket Arena does not need a reminder of who LeBron used to be. It needs a reminder that the Sixers are 8-1 for a reason. If Cleveland turns this into a referendum on nostalgia, Maxey will keep shooting. If Cleveland turns it into a Mitchell-Mobley physical game, the Cup night gets loud.

A mid-November Cup game rarely carries this much noise. An 8-1 road favorite with LeBron walking into Cleveland creates that noise. Reunion special or standings game is the fan fight; Mitchell versus Maxey is the basketball fight.