Cavaliers' All-Star Downgraded vs. 76ers

On Friday night, the Philadelphia 76ers are set to welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers into the Wells Fargo Center, as they look to shake off the tough loss against the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

The loss came despite the Knicks being without Julius Randle, OG Annouby, and Mitchell Robinson, all of whom are consistent starters for Tom Thibodeau.

The Sixers struggled to contain Jalen Brunson, who managed to record himself a 21-point 12-assist double-double, while Bojan Bogdanovic was able to drill in six makes from beyond the arch.

In an attempt to keep his team from getting washed by their Eastern Conference rivals, Tyrese Maxey went on a scoring surge, putting up 35 points on 45 percent shooting from the field, along with five assists.

Kyle Lowry was also able to make his debut for his hometown team on Thursday night, scoring 11 points off the bench, with some of his night spent in the locker room as he was required to receive stitches following an elbow to the head from Jericho Sims.

Just as the Knicks were without a few of their star players, the same can be said for JB Bickerstaff, who could be without his leading scorer.

Prior to tip-off on Friday night, Donovan Mitchell was downgraded due to an illness, which kept him out of Cleveland's match against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

To fill Mitchell's shoes against the Magic, Bickerstaff opted to start Max Strus, who would end the night with 18 points and six assists.

How has Mitchell done against the 76ers this season?

Just as he did last season, Mitchell has proven to be difficult for Philadelphia this season, scoring 36 points in their meeting ahead of All-Star weekend.

Granted, Mitchell was absent when the two sides met in mid-November.

The Sixers and Cavaliers will face off on Friday night, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. EST.