Cavs vs Suns: Starters, odds, prediction and TV channel

The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying desperately not to see their season spiral out of control. They have lost four straight games after not losing more than two in a row this season. They have played three of those losses without rookie phenom Evan Mobley, and all of them without Collin Sexton, now out for the season.

Their strong start means a four-game losing streak has landed them at .500, still a strong start given the difficulty of their early-season schedule. With Mobley still out for at least another week, the Cavs will try to buckle down and stop the dive before they fall too far back in the standings.

The Cavs host the Phoenix Suns Wednesday night on a four-game losing streak. What do you need to know about who is playing and how to bet?

The Phoenix Suns are at the opposite end of the spectrum, winners of 13-straight games. That is the longest streak for a team since the Toronto Raptors won 15-straight in the 2019-20 NBA season. The last time the Suns won this many consecutive games was during the peak of the Steve Nash era, when in 2006-07 they had two separate streaks of 17 and 15 wins.

The Suns have absolutely carved up the Western Conference during this streak, with 11 of their 13 wins over the West. Yet way back on October 30th, this winning streak began with a victory over Cleveland. Now the Cavs will see if they can finish what they started.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs Opponent: Odds, spread, over/under

The Cavaliers (9-9) will host the Phoenix Suns (14-3) tonight. According to our partners over at WynnBet, the Suns are favored by seven points. The Suns have won their last five games by an average of 10.2 points per game, while the Cavs’ losing streak has resulted in losses by an average of nine points. The over/under total is set at 208; for reference, the first meeting between these two teams resulted in a 101-92 win for the Suns.

Both teams will have equal rest coming into the game, although the Suns will have mixed in some travel. The Cavs played the Nets at home on Monday night and will be home again tonight. The Suns eked out a 115-111 win over the San Antonio Spurs on Monday and then flew up from The Alamo.

Cavs vs Opponent: Project starting lineups, injury report

Suns starters: Chris Paul, Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder, DeAndre Ayton.

Cavs: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade, Lauri Markkanen, Jarrett Allen

The Suns’ key injuries: Frank Kaminsky (out, knee); Abdel Nader (questionable, knee); Dario Saric (out, ACL tear)

The Cavaliers’ key injuries: Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Evan Mobley (out, elbow); Lamar Stevens (out, ankle); Darius Garland (questionable, neck); Cedi Osman (probably, back)

Cavs vs Suns: Prediction

The injury report might decide this game before it happens, as Darius Garland is this team’s most irreplaceable player despite the fact that Ricky Rubio is available to step into his place. With Collin Sexton out for the year this team has to get shooting from somewhere, and Garland’s shot creation and outside shooting are vital to sustain anything approximating a healthy offense.

If Garland plays, then there are reasons to think the Cavs can hang tough and maybe even win this game. Jarrett Allen looked hale returning from his illness absence and can hold DeAndre Ayton at bay in the post, and the Suns don’t have an elite forward scorer who could punish the Cavs for not having a stopper.

On the other hand, the Cavs also don’t have a wing threat on offense, which makes it easy for the Suns to slide Mikal Bridges onto Garland and not worry about Chris Paul or Devin Booker having a negative matchup on the other end. Allen can check Ayton, but Ayton can check Allen, potentially negating an advantage for Cleveland. Ayton has grown in his ability to guard in space, and this team (ranked third in defensive rating) doesn’t have a real weakness defensively.

Phoenix is on a roll, and the short-handed Cavs will probably find themselves unable to stop that winning streak. It won’t be from lack of effort, however, as even when they’re missing multiple key players they play everyone tough and hang in the game into the fourth quarter. Look for that to happen again, and a tired Suns team (winning is hard work) fails to cover the eight-point spread.

The slow-paced Suns will be comfortable letting the Cavs dictate the pace into a slow game, as Chris Paul is the king of walking it up the court and taking his time to get the exact combination of positioning and play call before going to work. While the Suns could get hot from long-range to blow this one open and over, we aren’t going to bank on that happening. The 208 point total is low, but not low enough.

Prediction: Phoenix 104, Cleveland 100

The Bet: Cavs (+8.0), UNDER

Cavs vs Suns: Where to Watch

After their tough loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Monday was on national television, the Cavs are back to their local station. You can watch them play the Suns on Bally Sports Ohio, or on NBA League Pass if you are out of market. The game begins at 7:00pm ET.

Cleveland Cavaliers Upcoming Schedule

After four straight games against title contenders the Cavs are breathing a sigh of relief at Friday’s game, a home contest against the Orlando Magic. The Magic are at the bottom of the East standings, and while they have played a number of good teams close recently they are a much more manageable opponent than Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry.

Things tick back up from there, with a three-game road trip to play the Dallas Mavericks, the Miami Heat and the Washington Wizards that carries them into December. If Evan Mobley is going to return near the early side of his injury timetable, that road trip is a small possibility.