San Antonio Spurs vs. Cleveland Cavaliers February 13 Betting Preview

The Cleveland Cavaliers (37-22) bring a six-game winning streak into tonight's home game against the San Antonio Spurs (14-43). Cleveland is now fourth in the Eastern Conference, one game back of the Philadelphia 76ers for third, while the Spurs are well out of the playoff race in the West and instead focusing on tanking for Victor Wembanyama. 

This is one of 11 games on a busy NBA schedule tonight. The All-Star break is this weekend. Donovan Mitchell is the Cavs lone All-Star representative, but he's also the team's first starter since LeBron James.

San Antonio Spurs Betting Preview

The Spurs, as evidenced by their record, don't do much well, nor do they have many talents. The team traded center Jakob Poetl to the Toronto Raptors at the trade deadline, adding another first-round pick for the 2024 NBA Draft. They also flipped Josh Richardson to the New Orleans Pelicans for Devonte Graham and four second-round picks.

San Antonio has a boatload of draft capital over the next handful of seasons, but that doesn't help them tonight. Instead, they'll visit Cleveland with a roster that includes veterans on expiring contracts playing for second chances and young players like Keldon Johnson, Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, and Jeremy Sochan. Vassell, averaging 19.4 points per game, is out with a knee injury, however.

The Spurs score 112.5 PPG, good enough for 23rd in the league, but are horrific defensively. They have the league's worst defensive rating (121.1) and commit 15.1 turnovers per game. They've lost 12 games in a row dating back to January 17 and have won just one of their last 18 games.

Cleveland Cavaliers Betting Preview

Cleveland, surprisingly, does not score as much as the Spurs. The Cavs average just 111.7 PPG, which ranks 26th in the league, but they've been scoring with ease during their six-game win streak. Aside from Saturday's 97-89 win over the Chicago Bulls where defense was the deciding factor, Cleveland scored more than its season average in the five prior games.

Mitchell showed why he is an All-Star starter against the Bulls. The first-year Cav, averaging 26.9 PPG, had his first double-double since January 2 when he scored a career-best 71 points. He had 29-10-6 against the Bulls on Saturday on 10-of-18 shooting.

Cleveland has the best rim defense in the league and the best overall defense. They rank first in defensive rating (110.4) and only turnover the ball 13 times per game, which ranks sixth-best in the league. 

The Cavs are 24-6 at home, while the Spurs are just 5-22 on the road. 

Spurs vs. Cavaliers Betting Odds And Prediction

Cleveland are -14.5 point favorites tonight, which is a high number even against a team that hasn't won in nearly a month. The Cavs are massive -1112 favorites on the moneyline, so that's not worth touching. 

There's no way Cleveland should lose tonight, but 14.5 points is a bit much. Instead, let's go with the under. Cleveland has limited its opponents to fewer than 92 points in three of its last six games.