Cleveland Cavaliers: The three toughest road trips of 2019-20
The third-toughest road trip: Dec. 12 through the 16, 2019
While this road trip is shorter in terms of game length, the Cavs are traveling across the USA and into Canada for this one.
Starting in San Antonio, the Cavs will take on a Spurs team led by DeMar DeRozan, Derrick White and LaMarcus Aldridge. While the Cavs have the capability to outshoot this team, San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich, one of the league’s best coaches, has shown the ability to take on a unique roster and compete against anyone.
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Despite their inability to hit three-point shots at a high volume like other teams, the Spurs employ a unique mid-range prowess. Last season, the Spurs finished dead last in three-pointers attempted per game, per NBA.com.
Yet, their impressive 47.8% shooting from the field placed second in the league, only behind the Golden State Warriors, also per NBA.com. The efficiency of the Spurs will make them a tough matchup for a young Cavs team.
Heading north to go against the Milwaukee Bucks, the Cleveland Cavaliers must face, per Vegas Insider, the favorite team to win the Eastern Conference. Featuring Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton and one of the league’s best second teams led by George Hill and now Robin Lopez, Milwaukee truly has an all-around attack.
The Cavs have minimal ways to stop the force that is the Greek Freak, especially against a team that can stretch the floor as well as anyone. It is bound to be one of the hardest matchups for the Cavs this season.
The Cavaliers then find themselves going abroad to take on the Kawhi Leonard-less defending champs. There is no doubt that the Raptors are not as competitive as they were last season, but with Kyle Lowry, Pascal Siakam, and Marc Gasol in the same lineup, they still pose a tough matchup for the Cavaliers to end this trip.