NBA Matchups: February 9

San Antonio Spurs at Cleveland Cavaliers

Team Totals: Spurs 105.5, Cavs 111

Injury Report: Darius Garland (Q, back), Lauri Markkanen (O, ankle), Tre Jones (Q, dental), Lonnie Walker IV (Q, knee)

Spurs projected starters: Dejounte Murray, Derrick White, Keldon Johnson, Doug McDermott, Jakob Poeltl

Cavaliers projected starters: Darius Garland, Caris LeVert, Isaac Okoro, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Popovich quotes: Said Collins was “very good” and was impressed with how he debuted, said Dejounte and Derrick White played great together.

Bickerstaff quotes: Wouldn’t commit to LeVert starting, said LeVert went through the scrimmage, said LeVert and Garland will be tough for teams to game plan, said LeVert can play as a wing or as a lead guard, said “the silkiness of [LeVert’s] game” makes him so hard to stop, said LeVert and Allen already showed some chemistry in the first practice, said he’ll mix and match his starting lineups until they figure it out, said Darius and Lauri were limited in practice “at a different level,” said Darius can play off the ball a little bit.

Stats and Notes:

*The Cavs continue to play at the slowest offensive pace in the league at a snail-like 15.8 seconds per possession in 2022 (OK, maybe not that slow) while the Spurs aren’t quite in that elite category in their pace anymore as the sixth-ranked team in 2022. The Cavs continue to play excellent defense as a top-five unit in 2022 while keeping teams from running on them too much. San Antonio is slightly subpar on defense these days, but they are without a doubt the league’s worst team at limiting teams from racking up putback points.

*The Spurs being so bad stopping teams on the O glass could really set up Jarrett Allen. He also has chemistry with both ball-handlers, and the Spurs are excellent at limiting perimeter scoring. There should be a ton of lobs for FroHio.

*Based on Bickerstaff’s comments, it sounds like Garland did some decent work at practice yesterday, and he was getting close to a return on Wednesday. I’d expect him to start, but I hate the matchup for him. Plus, he’ll have to share the ball with Caris a bit to lower his upside slightly.

*If Garland doesn’t play, LeVert would be on the board. He will soak up all the ball-handling he can handle, and the Cavs would likely simplify the O and just run Allen screens at Dejounte for LeVert.

*This is a pretty decent spot for Evan Mobley. He’ll have a big size advantage in his matchup, and the Cavs have frequently dumped the ball into him when he’s in this kind of spot. It might be a tougher sell if Garland is in, though. There just may not be enough usage to go around.

*On paper, it’s a bad matchup for Dejounte, but Dejounte beats paper like he’s scissors. He’ll likely see a lot of Isaac Okoro, who the Cavs trust way too much in 1-on-1 coverage.

*I wouldn’t go there on the other Spurs. It’s a pretty tough spot for Keldon as he gives up some size on the other end.

Chicago Bulls at Charlotte Hornets