The Cavaliers will look to close out their homestand with another win.
The Cavs will look to push their winning streak to five as they take on a Jazz team that has won two consecutive games.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (25-4) vs. Utah Jazz (7-20)
Where: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse - Cleveland, OH
When: 7 p.m., Monday, Dec. 23
TV: Fanduel Sports Network Ohio (previously Bally Sports), NBA League Pass
Line: Cavs -14.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen.
Cavs injury report: Isaac Okoro - OUT (shoulder), Sam Merrill - QUESTIONABLE (quad), Emoni Bates - OUT (G League), Luke Travers - OUT (G League)
Expected Jazz starting lineup: Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk, Collin Sexton, John Collins, Lauri Markkanen, Walker Kessler
Jazz injury report: Taylor Hendricks - OUT (fibula), Keyonte George - QUESTIONABLE (ankle), David Jones Garcia - OUT (G League), Oscar Tshiebwe - OUT (G League), Cody Williams - QUESTIONABLE - (G League), Kyle Filipowski - QUESTIONABLE - (G League)
It’s easy to look at the Jazz and take them for granted because of their record. They’re a bad team designed to lose games. For the first time since trading Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, they’re actually embracing a full-scale tank instead of the half-measures they took the previous two seasons.
Still, they have guys on their roster who can get hot and completely change games. Mainly, three former Cavaliers who can do so in Collin Sexton, Lauri Markkanen, and Jordan Clarkson.
Cleveland has done a great job of asserting themselves early in their last three wins. Each game they scored over 120 points and made sure the outcome was decided well before the fourth quarter. You’d like to see them come out and do the same here before they head out on a challenging four-game Western Conference road trip.
The Cavs have a tough stretch coming at the end of the month and into January. Getting Strus back at full strength would go a long way in making sure they put their best foot forward in those matchups.
Strus understandably didn’t look like himself in the first half of his season debut against the Milwaukee Bucks. He struggled to find a rhythm and seemed a little too jumpy on defense. That changed in the second half as he knocked down three triples, was impactful offensively off-ball, and looked more like himself on defense.
This game is a good opportunity for Strus to get more live reps against a weaker opponent.
Mobley is on an impressive run of basketball. Every night, it seems like he does something more impressive than the one before. Against the Philadelphia 76ers, it was his dunk on two players that led to head coach Kenny Atkinson comparing it to a dunk you’d see from Julius Erving.
This game is another opportunity for Mobley to continue his development. The Jazz are the perfect team for him to do that against as they have the 28th-ranked defense (119.5 defensive rating). This is due to their weak interior defense. The Jazz are allowing opponents to convert 70.9% of their shots at the rim. That’s the highest percentage in the league.
Mobley has feasted on mismatches and lesser competition all season. This is a good opportunity for him to do so again.
