San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers December 12 Betting Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers (17-10) managed to take care of business over the Oklahoma City Thunder despite being without Donovan Mitchell their last time out.

The San Antonio Spurs (8-18) have won two straight games but still figure to be in the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes.

Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview

Caris LeVert filled in admirably for Donovan Mitchell, as he put up 22 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Mitchell is considered questionable to make his return to the lineup against the Spurs.

The Cavs took full advantage of an OKC team that isn’t strong at defending inside, as Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen dropped 21 points apiece while grabbing 12 and 11 rebounds, respectively.

Darius Garland contributed 13 points and eight assists.

The Cavs will be going up against yet another weak team, and that’ll help them work out some kinks all across their roster and try and maintain their slimming lead for the third seed in the Eastern Conference.

Even without Mitchell, the Cavs still have plenty of weapons to go around their roster and several guys who can do damage inside the paint, in the mid-range, or behind the arc.

Defensively, this group also remains the best in the league, according to the NBA defensive rating metric.

San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview

The Spurs have been catching fire recently, as they took down the Miami Heat their last time out.

Keldon Johnson has embraced a bigger role with the Spurs, especially with the trade of Dejounte Murray, as he put up 21 points and seven rebounds in his last game.

Romeo Langford had 19 points and six rebounds. Devin Vassell came off the bench with 18 points and three steals. Zach Collins added 16 points and eight rebounds.

These are not the same Spurs that won five championships in a 15-year span, as this group is looking to build from the ground up and build the same type of foundation that yielded success before.

However, Gregg Popovich remains the head coach of this proud franchise, so this is a team to be taken seriously, and a lot of the same principles that helped get them the five rings still likely exist inside the Spurs’ DNA. If they get Victor Wembanyama, consider their rebuild finished next season.

Odds

The Cavs are favored by a -8 spread, as they’ll be the home team yet again.

While the Spurs have had a very successful past and look to be successful in the future, the present is now, and that tells us that this team is in a rebuilding phase.

The Cavs, on the other hand, are looking to win now. Having said that, expect the Cavs to go out there and take care of business with ease while covering the spread.