Following their extremely successful regular season campaign last season, many pundits had the Cleveland Cavaliers slotted into one of the top positions of the Eastern Conference standings coming into this year. The Cavaliers famously started last year 15-0, finishing with a 64-18 record be fore injuries took their toll and led to a disappointing second round exit to the eventual East champ the Indiana Pacers. Returning all of their core of Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, Darius Garland, and Jarrett Allen and most of the rest of their roster, head coach Kenny Atkinson’s group nonetheless finds itself 13-10 to start this season and 7th in the East standings. They’ve dealt with some injuries early on, but lucky for them the season is still barely a month old. There’s plenty of time before season’s end for them to find their way into the top 3, as they’re just 4.5 games back of the current #1 Detroit Pistons. Winners of 4 of their last 5, the San Antonio Spurs continue to chug along while Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle recover from their respective injuries. The rest of the team has stepped it up in a big way, as the entire squad seems to have upped their level of intensity. Case in point: 3 of those 4 wins came on the road. San Antonio will be spending most of their time this month traveling from one NBA city to the next, with a total of 7 games on the road in December. With the return of Wembanyama and Castle hopefully not too much further off, can the Silver and Black continue to get it done on the road and maintain their positioning in the seemingly always chaotic West? San Antonio Spurs (15-6) at Cleveland Cavaliers (13-10) November 28th 2025 | 8:30 PM CT Watch: FDSS | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM) Spurs Injuries: Luke Kornet, ankle (questionable), Victor Wembanyama, calf strain (OUT), Stephon Castle, hip flexor (OUT), Jordan McLaughlin, hamstring (OUT), Cavaliers Injuries: Darius Garland, toe (OUT), Jarrett Allen, finger (OUT), Sam Merrill, hand (OUT), Tyrese Proctor, personal (OUT), Max Strus, foot (OUT) What to watch for Donovan Mitchell is off to a career-best start, leading the charge for the Cavaliers offense. Mitchell has had to do a lot of the heavy lifting this year in the Cleveland backcourt due to injury woes for Darius Garland and hasn’t disappointed. He’s one of 4 players currently averaging at least 30 points per game, doing so either at or above career-highs as far as percentages go. His 10.5 3PA would be by far the highest of his career were that to continue until season’s end. Mitchell has had two 40-point games in 2 of his last 4 performances. It’ll be interesting to see rookie Dylan Harper get his first reps against the 9 year vet. San Antonio has found help up and down the roster, but De’Aaron Fox has been as consistent as they come. In the 9 games since Wembanyama went down, Fox has scored at least 25 points in all but one of the Spurs’ games. The game in question just happens to be San Antonio’s win over the Nugget where he finished with just 15 points, but dished out 12 assists as well, highlighting how effective he can be in setting up his teammates even when his shot isn’t falling. The scoring match-up between Fox and Mitchell should be a highlight tonight. Much like their starting backcourt, Cleveland’s starting frontcourt is also dealing with a key injury. Evan Mobley has been out there for all but 1 game, but his partner Jarrett Allen has missed 8 games so far and is currently out at least a week with a finger injury. The reigning Defensive Player of the Year, the 6’11 Mobley is a defensive menace capable of locking down the paint and switching out onto the perimeter when the situation calls for it. On offense he’s more than capable of stepping out beyond the arc, currently shooting 37% for what would be the 3rd year in a row on a career-high 4.4 attempts per game. For the Cavalier fan’s perspective, please visit Fear the Sword. If you’d like to, you may follow along with the game on our Twitter profile (@poundingtherock) or visit our Game Thread! ...read more read less