Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs: Game preview, start time, television information

Erm, uh, sound the alarm? The Cavaliers stink right now, with the worst net rating in the NBA since Christmas. Like, you can actually say that currently, they are the worst team in the NBA. That is crazy. You can tell how strongly I feel about this by all the italics and bold font I’m using. The Cavs visit the Spurs on Tuesday night. We’ll see how they respond.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (27-18) vs. San Antonio Spurs (30-18)

When: 8:00 p.m.

Where: AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas

Enemy Blog: Pounding the Rock

TV: TNT

Online: Fox Sports Go, Watch TNT

Cavs injuries: Iman Shumpert (OUT - left knee)

Spurs injuries: Kawhi Leonard (OUT - quad)

Three keys to the game:

• The Spurs engine keeps rolling, even with Kawhi Leonard hurt and unhappy in San Antonio. Both Spurs big men are capable passers and playmakers and can punish individual matchup, which the Cavs provide in spades right now. Meanwhile, their shooters are as capable as ever. Keep an eye out for a big night from Patty Mills offensively.
• Can we please find Kevin Love some shots? His usage has cratered since Isaiah Thomas returned, and with two slow-footed big men in the Spurs starting lineup, there’s plenty of spots for him to find his rhythm as an off-ball cutter. He deserves a chance to thrive the way he did earlier in the season.
• LeBron’s busted jumper hopefully will resolve itself soon. He’s shooting terribly everywhere except the rim as of late, and it’s really cramping spacing when he doesn’t have the ball. In general, it’s been a downswing for LeBron outside of some outlier games in the past couple weeks. He’s played every game this season without any days off, and it’s worth wondering if he could use a week to get himself right. The Cavs, as of now, don’t have the luxury to give that to him.

Key Matchup

Jae Crowder will likely draw the LaMarcus Aldridge assignment, and it’s fair to wonder if he’s going to get completely roasted. Aldridge has a size and strength advantage and it’s unlikely that the Cavs will be able to help in a cohesive manner on the defensive end. They’ll have to hope for

Fear the Sword’s Fearless Prediction

The Cavs (-2) fail to cover for the ninth straight game and lose this one 111-104.