CINCINNATI (0-0) at BALTIMORE (0-0)
Sunday Cortez Kennedy Jersey , 1 p.m. ET, CBS
OPENING LINE – Colts by 1 1/2
RECORD VS. SPREAD – Cincinnati 8-8, Indianapolis 8-8
SERIES RECORD – Colts lead 19-11
LAST MEETING – Bengals won 24-23, Oct. 29, 2017
AP PRO32 RANKING – Bengals No. 24, Colts No. 30
BENGALS OFFENSE – OVERALL (32), RUSH (31), PASS (27).
BENGALS DEFENSE – OVERALL (18), RUSH (30), PASS (8).
COLTS OFFENSE – OVERALL (31), RUSH (22), PASS (30).
COLTS DEFENSE – OVERALL (30) Sebastian Janikowski Jersey , RUSH (26), PASS (28).
STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES – Bengals and Colts meet for second time in 11 days, marking first time since 2014 NFL teams have squared off in preseason finale and regular-season opener (San Diego and Arizona). … Cincinnati has won three of last four openers and three of last five in series after snapping seven-game skid against Colts. … Coach Marvin Lewis is 20-14 against first-year head coaches. … QB Andy Dalton and WR A.J. Green enter eighth season together and are oldest players on Bengals’ offense at 30. … Dalton needs one 300-yard game to tie Boomer Esiason’s career record for most in franchise history (23), and nine passing attempts to pass Esiason (3,464) for No. 2 in Bengals history. … Green and Chad Johnson are tied for most career 100-yard games (32). … LB Preston Brown makes Bengals debut after sharing NFL lead for tackles (144) in Buffalo last season. … Bengals open with Sunday afternoon/Thursday night slate for second straight season. … Cincinnati will wear white color rush uniforms at Indy. …Colts’ Frank Reich makes head coaching debut and will call offensive plays. … Indy needs two wins for 300 since making move in 1984 from Baltimore. … Andrew Luck expected to make first regular-season start since Jan. 1, 2017. Luck has at least one TD pass in 23 consecutive games, longest active streak in NFL, and tied for No. 19 in league history. … Indy offensive line allowed league-high 56 sacks last season. … K Adam Vinatieri needs seven field goals and 58 points to break Morten Andersen’s NFL career records in both categories (565 field goals and 2,544 points). Vinatieri needs five field goals between 40 and 49 yards to tie Gary Anderson (161) for league’s career mark. Vinatieri is oldest player in NFL at 45. … Indy has switched from 3-4 defensive front to more traditional 4-3 defense under new coordinator Matt Eberflus. … Safeties Malik Hooker and Clayton Geathers expect to line up side by side for first time in regular-season game after injuries last season. Hooker tore two ligaments in right knee in October. Geathers missed first nine games in 2017 with neck injury and had offseason knee surgery. … Fantasy Tip: Dalton and Green have connected for league-high 21 plays of 50 or more yards since 2011 and could take advantage of Indy’s new defense and young secondary.
Back in the playoffs for the first time in six years, the Philadelphia 76ers got a bit of a pick-me-up on Thursday as they prepared for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals matchup with the Miami Heat at 5 p.m. on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“We had a nice team dinner, went over the game plan Maxx Williams Jersey , shared a message from Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Allen Iverson, exchanged some stories, some well swishes, and we wake up this morning and reset the game plan,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said. “They understand the magnitude of this time of year.”
It would be understandable if at least a few of the Sixers players didn’t.
The last time third-seeded Philadelphia won 50 regular-season games — the 2000-01 season — Ben Simmons was 4 years old. His backup, No. 1 draft pick Markelle Fultz, was 2, and he turned 3 while the 76ers were in the midst of their postseason run to the NBA Finals that season.
It hasn’t been 18 years since the 76ers started “The Process,” though it may have felt that way. But even in this better-than-anticipated season, the team feels excited and prepared for its first playoff run since 2012.
Even the absence of star young center Joel Embiid — who, Brown confirmed Matt Bryant Jersey , will miss the beginning of the playoffs as he recovers from a broken orbital bone — is doing little to dampen Philadelphia’s spirits.
“We prepare the same way we’ve been preparing the last seven or so games without him,” said Simmons, who has averaged a triple-double over the last month. “Stick with our defense, stick with our offense. We’re ready to play; I love stepping up and playing against the best competition.”
Against the sixth-seeded Heat, Embiid’s presence could play a major factor.
Miami has a pair of stout centers in Hassan Whiteside, one of the league’s best defenders, and rookie Bam Adebayo, who is one of the league’s best rebounders per 48 minutes.
“They are tremendous rim protectors,” Brown said. “You better go to jump or you better find perimeter shooters, because anything soft or non-purposeful is very difficult with those two bodies in there.”
Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said the Heat could turn to Adebayo more against a 76ers squad missing one of the premier post players in the game.
“He certainly brings something that could be needed in this series, which is that energy and physicality under the rim,” Spoelstra said. “This is a big offensive rebounding team and you need more of your best rebounders out there.”
Both teams enter the matchup coming off good Aprils Joe Flacco Jersey , though the 76ers come in as the hottest team in the NBA with a franchise-best 16 straight wins. Miami ended the regular season winners of five of eight.
“This is a great competition,” Spoelstra said. “You look at our games, we split them 2-2 and we had some crazy games. Both teams had big leads and lost them. This is what you want. Usually the 3-6 matchup is very competitive.”
Neither team dominated the season series, with all four games between the teams taking place during a five-week stretch from early February to early March. Philadelphia won at home, 103-97, on Feb. 2, followed by a 104-102 Miami road win on Feb. 14. The teams met again two weeks later in Miami, with the 76ers scoring a 102-101 win, and the Heat closed out the season series with a 108-99 home win on March 8.
“They played us hard; they were really physical with us, especially down in Miami,” Sixers guard J.J. Redick said. “They run multiple actions on offense so you really have to defend for the whole shot clock. They have a deep roster with a bunch of guys who play hard and play together. It’s a big challenge for us.”
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