The Cleveland Cavaliers have history with the Golden State Warriors. For four years this matchup was the best in basketball, and perhaps the best in sports. LeBron James, a physical marvel with the body of a linebacker and the skills of a point guard, a player who invented modern player agency and won titles with three teams; vs Stephen Curry, the everybody star, the greatest shooter of all time, the guy who stayed with one team and created a dynasty there.
James is gone, and in his place is the next generation of Cleveland stars: Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley. Kevin Love is still around, as is Cedi Osman, but for the most part the Cavs have completely turned a new leaf from their days clashing with Golden State. The Warriors have turned over a lot too, but the core is the same: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Andre Iguodala, Steve Kerr — and, this Sunday, Klay Thompson once more.
After 941 days recovering from back-to-back leg injuries, Thompson is expected to make his return in front of the Bay Area crowd on Sunday when the Cavs come to town, playing a familiar foe. The Splash Brothers will be whole once more. Can the upstart Cavs knock off the Warriors, or will Thompson knock off the rust and help lift the Warriors to a win?
The Cavs visit the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night for the return of Klay Thompson. Who is playing and what should you expect?
The Warriors have been among the league leaders all season, but a recent two-game skid has dropped them a game behind the Phoenix Suns. Stephen Curry is in a serious slump; the Cavs have to hope that continues, buoyed by the sore quadriceps that Curry is nursing. It’s possible that Golden State has its entire roster available for this game, sans James Wiseman who is still out after knee surgery last Spring.
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Golden State Warriors: Odds, spread, over/under
The Cavaliers (22-17) will visit the Golden State Warriors (29-9) tonight. According to our partners over at WynnBet, the Warriors are favored by nine points. The over/under point total is 217.
The Cavaliers come into town after playing in Portland on Friday, winning at the Moda Center against the Blazers team without Damian Lillard or CJ McCollum. The Warriors have had an extra day off, playing a road back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday before returning home for this contest.
Cavs vs Warriors: Projected starting lineups, injury report
Warriors starters: Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, Kevon Looney
Cavs: Darius Garland, Lamar Stevens, Lauri Markkanen, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
The Warriors’ key injuries: Klay Thompson (probable, Achilles); James Wiseman (out, knee); Draymond Green (probable, wrist); Juan Toscano-Anderson (questionable, ankle)
The Cavaliers’ key injuries: Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Ricky Rubio (out for season, knee); Isaac Okoro (out, elbow)
Cavs vs Warriors: Prediction
The Warriors are a deserving title favorite, with the league’s best defense and a Top 10 offense. Stephen Curry has been shooting colder than his standards, but he is still one of the most impactful offensive players in the league. What makes this Warriors team stand out is its depth, as any player on the roster is deserving of rotation minutes.
Klay Thompson returning is the headline, but it may not have a significant impact on the game. He is expected to play no more than 20 minutes and will have plenty of rust to knock off. The real barometer for the Warriors’ offense other than Curry is likely to be Jordan Poole, who will play 30 minutes off the bench and can heat up like the best of them.
Cleveland will have a size advantage at all times, and especially when Looney is on the bench and either Draymond Green or Nemanja Bjelica is playing the 5. Cleaning the glass, playing for lobs and even some well-time post-ups could help to leverage that strength, but the Warriors are old hats at swarming bigs and negating their height disadvantage.
The Warriors are a better team, but they are in an offensive valley and the Cavs could take advantage. Darius Garland will have an excellent platform in the most-watched game of the Cavs’ season thus far, and a big game from him could outpace the Warriors and give Cleveland a marquee win: and Garland an All-Star berth.
While that’s possible, the Warriors deserve to be favored here. Yet nine points is a large spread, especially given Golden State’s wobbles recently. The prediction here is that both defenses play well, with Cleveland covering the spread and the total hitting under 217.
Prediction: Warriors 104, Cavaliers 99
The Bet: Cavaliers, UNDER
Cavs vs Warriors: Where to Watch
At one point in time, the matchup of these two teams was appointment viewing, a must-have for the national television networks and even a Christmas Day choice. Those days have passed, but the expected return of Klay Thompson has at least bumped this game to NBA TV. Local Cleveland fans can also tune in on Bally Sports Ohio, while Bay Area fans can watch on NBC Sports Bay Area. Finally, since the game was flexed from NBA League Pass, this game should still be available there.
The game is scheduled to tip-off at 8:30pm EST, or 5:30pm PT.
Cleveland Cavaliers Upcoming Schedule
After playing the Warriors the Cavs still have four games left on this road trip, the next coming in Sacramento against the reeling Kings. They have fallen behind the San Antonio Spurs into 11th-place in the West, outside of the play-in field entirely. The Cavs can’t overlook any game, but this one won’t be as daunting as the Warriors game and given the short distance from San Francisco to Sacramento, this is about as easy of a road back-to-back as one can find.
From there the Cavs will fly to Salt Lake City to play the offensive juggernauts that are the Utah Jazz, and then the surging Spurs and tanking Oklahoma City Thunder to wrap up the trip. Cleveland got off to a good start in Portland; how will the rest of the games shake out?