CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs (17-16) travel to Frost Bank Center on Monday night to take on the surging Spurs (23-8). Cleveland defeated them on Dec. 5, but that game was different.
San Antonio is not supposed to feel like this again. At least, not yet. And yet, every time Victor Wembanyama steps on the floor, the Spurs stop feeling like a thought and start feeling like a contender.
That is the environment the Cavs walk into as their difficult stretch continues, a stretch that has already exposed uncomfortable truths.
Cleveland let one slip away at Madison Square Garden on Christmas Day, surrendering a 17-point fourth-quarter lead to the Knicks. Then Houston bludgeoned them with size, physicality and second-chance points, turning a game into a lesson.
Now comes a Spurs team that can play fast, plays free and plays without fear, powered by Wembanyama’s gravitational pull and a young backcourt that wants to race downhill every chance it gets. De’Aaron Fox’s availability is uncertain, but Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper are more than capable of stressing a defense with dribble drives, transition bursts and rim-attacking force. This is not a team waiting its turn.
The matchup that matters most, though, lives above the noise.
Evan Mobley versus Wembanyama is more about trajectory than skill and height.
Mobley is easing his way back from a calf injury, still searching for rhythm and authority. Wembanyama, meanwhile, is already shaping how games feel, bending spacing, forcing mistakes at the rim and setting cultural expectations in San Antonio.
When asked last year who the best player in the league in 5 years would be, Mobley said himself or Wembanyama. Well, Wembanyama is accelerating that timeline, while Mobley is still answering a different question: can he consistently impose himself as the engine of a contender?
Cleveland is nearly whole again, with only Larry Nance Jr. and Max Strus as rotational players sidelined, but health alone does not guarantee answers — the team learned that over the last week.
The Spurs will test the Cavs’ rebounding discipline, their transition defense and their willingness to match force with force. They already have, after all, beaten Oklahoma City three times this month — the team that was seemingly on an inevitable march back to the Finals.
This is a game that will measure Cleveland’s maturity, resilience and internal hierarchy. Two seven-footers will share the floor, but only one is currently redefining what his team believes it can become.
For Mobley and the Cavs, the question is how close they really are to that level and how uncomfortable they are willing to get in their pursuit of it.
How to watch the Cavs: See how to watch the Cavs games with this handy game-by-game TV schedule.
Here’s what to know about the matchup:
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs
Series: Final matchup in the regular season.
Where: Frost Bank Center
When: 8 p.m. ET.
The point spread: Spurs minus-4.5; O/U 238.5
TV: NBC & Peacock
Injury report
Cavs
Out:
- Chris Livingston (G League – Two-Way)
- Larry Nance Jr. (right calf; strain)
- Max Strus (left foot; Jones fracture surgery)
- Luke Travers (G League – Two-Way)
Spurs
Questionable:
- De’Aaron Fox (left adductor; tightness/illness)
- David Jones Garcia (G League – Two-Way)
Out:
- Harrison Ingram (G League – Two-Way)
- Stanley Umude (G League – Two-Way)
