Live Thread: Cavs @ Spurs (#CollisionCourse)

Aside from maybe Christmas Day (and the upcoming MLK Day matchup with the Warriors)… tonight’s game features one of the more anticipated clashes of the season, as the Cavs make their second stop in Texas to tangle with the San Antonio Spurs. As if this showdown needed more hype, both teams enter with lengthy winning streaks (eight games in a row for the Cavs and nine straight for the Spurs). The Spurs also just happen to be 22-0 at home to start this season (as they chase the all-time Western Conference record of 26-0 set by the Portland Trailblazers in 1977-78), and actually haven’t lost a game at the AT&T Center since the epic overtime thriller won by this Cavalier team last March 12th. In that 128-125 classic collision, the Cavs emerged victorious thanks to a career high 57 points from Kyrie Irving.

Since the last visit by the Cavs, most of the Spurs’ home games haven’t even been close contests. This year, they’re sporting a plus-16.1 points per game differential, just off the all time pace set by the 1995-96 Bulls (17.1). According to ESPN stats, San Antonio’s 93.5 points per 100 possessions allowed are on pace to be the fewest in the league in more than a decade, behind only their own mark of 91.6 set during the 2003-04 season.

Offensively, what makes the Spurs tough to defend is their ability to feature different scoring threats through their established system of sharing the ball. Tim Duncan, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tony Parker have all taken turns as the high scorer in each of the last four games, and all four can prove to be difficult covers, as the Spurs’ offense flows wherever the team requires it.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have been able to diversify their own scoring lately with the return of a healthy Kyrie Irving. Even though he struggled a bit in his last two games (eight points on 3-of-15 shooting against the Sixers, and a rough shooting start against the Mavs), he came alive in the fourth quarter and overtime in Dallas to end up with 22 points and nine assists, and hit a deep dagger three to help cement the win. With Kyrie, LeBron, Kevin Love and a hot-shooting J.R. Smith, the Cavs have their own scoring threats to counter the Spurs.

With the Dallas victory, the Cavs have won eight consecutive games twice now this season, but they will need their best defensive effort to extend that streak to nine.

The probable starting lineup for the Cavs is: Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, LeBron James, Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. And for the Spurs: Tony Parker, Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge and Tim Duncan.

The game will be nationally televised at 8pm EST on TNT, and can be heard on WTAM 1100.

This is a hard one to predict, as I think the Spurs, more than any other team, match up really well with the Cavs. I don’t think there will be nearly as much scoring as 10 months ago, but it should still be a very close game. I forecast that the wine & gold will pull this one out in the end 102-100.

ALL ABOARD! And GO CAVS!