Mobley and Jerome were out that night. Mobley is back but Jerome is still out and so is Dean Wade with an illness. The Spurs are still missing Wemby and De’Aaron Fox, of course, and Jeremy Sochan is also out. Sochan is listed as their starting center at the moment (even though he's a 6'8" forward) and backup center Charles Bassey (6'10") is a game time decision. Keldon Johnson is also a GTD. If Bassey is out the Spurs will only have one player over 6'7", and that's Bismack Biyombo at 6'8".
They didn’t have anybody over 6’8” last week, either, but they still got 19 offensive rebounds and were in position to steal a win with three minutes left. This time they’re at home so the Cavs can’t take them lightly. They just beat the Nuggets in Denver, although Jokic, Michael Porter, Aaron Gordon, and Christian Braun were out.
Chris Paul, 39, starts at point guard. Harrison Barnes, 32, starts at power forward. Devin Vassell, who also was out Wednesday with a back issue, starts at small forward. He scored 22 against the Cavs last week.
Stephon Castle, the #4 overall pick this spring, starts at shooting guard. He had a great game against the Cavs with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 8 assists. Two days later he had 22 points and 8 assists against the Celtics. He’s 6’6” and super athletic.
Keldon Johnson had 17 points off the bench against the Cavs so if he can’t play it will be significant.
The Cavs seem to have righted the ship with wins over the Clippers and Knicks, two teams who will be in the playoffs. With Mobley back it’s not likely the Spurs will get 19 offensive rebounds again.
In my opinion the Cavs played stupid basketball against the Spurs. Despite the Spurs having nobody over 6’8” the Cavs jacked up 48 three-pointers, missing 31 of them. They were not shooting well from deep (35%) but they kept launching. Mobley being out was probably a factor. When it came down to crunch time they went inside to Allen and the Spurs had no answer.
This time with Mobley on the floor I’d like to see the Cavs pound it inside early to both bigs and let them shoot over the smaller Spurs. Get them in foul trouble and build a lead early. I assume the Spurs will pack the paint and go for strips before our bigs can get the shot off, so in that case kickouts for uncontested 3’s are in order.
But in general when you have a huge height advantage you should take it to the rim and not shoot 48 threes, especially when you're barely making a third of them.
Donovan had 25 points and 14 assists so I can see him taking over again. He seems to be building momentum for the playoffs. I think they should attack Chris Paul. At age 39 he can’t stay in front of Mitchell or Garland, so beat him off the dribble and get into the paint for floaters, lobs, or kickouts to the corner. Paul is only 6’0” so you can also take him to the rim if he stays with you.
Last game Biyombo started at center but only played 15 minutes. But with Sochan out he will have to play more unless Bassey can go. Bassey is a 4th year player averaging 11 minutes per game for his career.
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
Ty Jerome - OUT (knee)
Dean Wade - OUT (illness)
San Antonio
Jeremy Sochan - OUT (back)
De'Aaron Fox - OUT (finger)
Victor Wembanyama - OUT (blood clot)
Riley Minix - OUT (shoulder)
Charles Bassey - QUESTIONABLE (knee)
Keldon Johnson - QUESTIONABLE (back)
