Cavaliers Face Injury-Riddled Warriors in Final West Coast Road Game of 2026

For the final time in the 2026 NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers play on the West Coast as they take on the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center in San Fransisco, California.

The Cavs are coming off of a tough loss on Tuesday night in Los Angeles facing the Lakers, and are looking to respond with a positive step before coming back to Cleveland on Easter Sunday when they face the Indiana Pacers.

The Cavaliers injury report doesn't show any surprises as Jaylon Tyson is out tonight as well as Dean Wade and the Cavs three two-way players, Riley Minix, Olivier Sarr and Tristan Enaruna.

While the Cavaliers sport one of their cleaner bills of health this season, Steve Kerr's squad cannot say the same thing. Steph Curry is ramping up toward a return to the court this weekend but is not available for tonight's game.

Injuries will play a factor

The Warriors are also without Jimmy Butler who is recovering from a torn ACL, Moses Moody who is also out for the season with a torn left patellar tendon, and veteran Al Horford. The Warriors also currently have Kristaps Porzingis, Gui Santos, De'Anthony Melton, Quinten Post and Gary Payton II as game time decisions.

In their first matchup this season, the Warriors were victorious over the Cavs in Cleveland by a Score of 99-94, though that was a surprise loss for the Cavs, both teams look much different from the first game in early December. Donovan Mitchell led all scorers in that game with 29 points, but the Warriors Pat Spencer was the Warriors top scorer with 19 points.

Cleveland is currently the favorite in this matchup at -10.5 with an over/under at 227.5 points. Between the available talent on both teams it's easy to see why.

Golden State is currently 36-40 coming into the 10:00 p.m. tip, but are 21-16 at home this season. They currently sit in 10th place in the West with their post season position locked, likely leading to a play-in matchup. They currently trail the Portland Trail Blazers by 2.5 games for the 9 seed and the Los Angeles Clippers by 3 games for the 8 seed.

The Cavaliers, on the other hand, look to be locked into the 4 seed in the East at 47-29, and are 23-15 on the road this season. Though they are 16-6 since acquiring James Harden, the backcourt tandem of Harden and Mitchell has become quite the dynamic duo. The Cavs are just one of three NBA teams sporting two top 25 scorers in the league.

Here are the projected starting five for both teams:

Golden State Warriors:
Draymond Green
Kristaps Porzingis
De'Anthony Melton
Gui Santos
Brandon Podziemski

Cleveland Cavaliers:
James Harden
Donovan Mitchell
Evan Mobley
Jarrett Allen
Sam Merrill

Simply put, this is a game the Cavaliers should win.

Not just based off of health, but based off of talent on the roster as well. Take care of business, get on the plane, and then get back home to beat up on the lowly Pacers.