LA Clippers vs. Cleveland Cavaliers: Preview, How to Watch, and Betting Info

After earning their first win in blowout fashion on Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers, the LA Clippers will look to carry that momentum into Wednesday's matchup vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers.

On the surface, this is a game the Clippers should win; however, the Cavs are coming off of two solid wins, and are no easy task. After dropping their first two games of the season, the Cavaliers have evened their record at 2-2 with wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Denver Nuggets. With a mix of veterans and youth, Cleveland is an interesting team that cannot be overlooked.

After being awarded the 3rd overall pick in the 2021 NBA draft, the Cleveland Cavaliers selected the 7-footer Evan Mobley out of USC. Through four games, the rookie is averaging 14.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG, and 2.0 BPG on 55% from the field. Cleveland starts him alongside 6'11" center Jarrett Allen, so their front court is absolutely huge. This will be an interesting element to look at for tomorrow's game, because the Clippers often like to play small.

Without Marcus Morris in this matchup, who is once again sidelined with a left knee injury, the Clippers lose a key component of their small-ball attack. With Morris as the small-ball center, the Clippers could force a player like Allen to defend the perimeter, similar to what they did with Rudy Gobert in the playoffs. Without Morris, the Clippers could move Nicolas Batum into that role; however, that would force a player like Paul George or Terance Mann to slide up defensively and likely end up with a size mismatch against Mobley. Because of this, expect the Clippers to instead opt for a steady diet of both Ivica Zubac and Isaiah Hartenstein.

Even with the Clippers likely deploying both Hartenstein and Zubac to take turns defending the interior, Cleveland creates some problems with essentially two 7-footers in their starting lineup. Nicolas Batum projects to be the Clippers' starting power forward in this matchup, so he will look to defend Mobley with as much physicality and length as possible.

Aside from the big-man play for Cleveland, they also deploy a pretty dynamic backcourt duo. The guard duo of Collin Sexton and Darius Garland really emerged last season, and can be a handful for any opposing defense. In 60 games last season, Sexton averaged 24.3 PPG on 47.5% from the field and 37.1% from deep. Garland was a solid co-star for Sexton, averaging 17.4 PPG on 45.1% from the field and 39.5% from deep.

After struggling defensively in their first two matchups, the Clippers put up a historic defensive performance in the win over Portland. As a team, the Clippers forced 30 turnovers in the game against the Blazers, which was just the 8th time in franchise history such a mark had been achieved. Of the 30 turnovers, 21 of them were steals, which was the 2nd most in a game in franchise history. While a lot of this was caused by sloppy offense from Portland, the Clippers will certainly look to carry this defensive momentum into Wednesday's matchup vs. Cleveland.

In addition to the absence of Marcus Morris, the Clippers will once again be without the trio of Kawhi Leonard, Serge Ibaka, and Jason Preston, who are all out with injuries. Rookie Keon Johnson is once again questionable with an illness. For Cleveland, the only expected absence is Isaac Okoro who has been ruled out with a left hamstring strain.

How to Watch

Matchup: LA Clippers (1-2) vs. Cleveland Cavaliers (2-2)

Date: October 27th, 2021

Time: 7:30

Venue: Staples Center

Broadcast: Bally Sports

Betting Info

Spread: Clippers -7.5

Moneyline: Cavaliers +270, Clippers -330

Point Total: O/U 217

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook