Cavaliers vs. Spurs: NBA Odds, Expert Picks, and Prediction for Monday, December 12

• Cavaliers (-7.5)
• Spurs (+7.5)
• Over/Under (219)
• 8:30 pm EST (BSOH)

On Monday evening, the Cleveland Cavaliers will travel to the great state of Texas to battle the San Antonio Spurs at the AT&T Center. Entering play, Cleveland is 17-10, sitting third in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.

San Antonio has won each of their last two contests, but remains 8-18 on the season, which is the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

Oddsmakers are expecting San Antonio’s winning streak to come to an end in this spot, pricing Cleveland as 7.5-point road favorites on the spread.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Notably, Donovan Mitchell and Kevin Love have both been listed as questionable for tonight’s affair against the Spurs. In recent games, both players have been listed as out on the initial injury reports, meaning that today’s questionable tag could be closer to probable than doubtful.

The return of Mitchell would be a welcome sign for this group, which suffered through a 19-0 run by the Sacramento Kings last Friday.

The Cavaliers are 15-8 when Mitchell plays this year, but only 2-2 in the four games that he has missed. Cleveland’s Net Rating, including both their offensive and defensive efficiency, is better with Mitchell on the court than it is with him off of the court, per Cleaning the Glass.

San Antonio Spurs

From November 2 to December 4, the Spurs won only one game in 17 attempts. During that span, they were outscored by 16.3 points per 100 possessions and endured the longest losing streak of the Gregg Popovich era. Yet, there seemed to be renewed life from the roster after Popovich returned to practice on December 7, following a minor medical procedure.

In two games since Popovich’s return, the team is 2-0, with victories over the Houston Rockets and Miami Heat. Keldon Johnson has shouldered the offensive burden in those victories, averaging 26.5 points on 18.0 shot attempts.

Still, it remains to be seen how long this group can sustain the positive momentum from their last two games. At the end of the day, team chemistry and motivation to win only go so far in the modern NBA. Jakob Poeltl remains out for tonight’s action due to a right knee injury, which leaves this group undersized up-front against a formidable Cleveland frontcourt.

Cavaliers vs. Spurs Prediction

Though some bettors may, understandably, be interested in waiting for the final injury report before locking-in wagers for this contest – there could be early value on the fourth quarter market in this contest for those willing to take a small gamble.

Even counting games in which Mitchell has been on the sidelines, Cleveland owns the sixth-best Net Rating of any team in the NBA during the fourth quarter of action this year, having outscored their opponents by 6.0 points per 100 possessions. San Antonio ranks dead-last in this metric, having been outscored by 18.0 points per 100 possessions during the final 12 minutes of game action.

Even without Mitchell, this could be a profitable spot for bettors – bet the Cavaliers on the fourth quarter spread at FanDuel Sportsbook.

• PICK: Cavaliers 4th Quarter Spread -1.5 (-104, FanDuel)
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