Cavs vs. Wizards preview: Can Darius Garland break through?
The Cavaliers look to start the season with a third-straight win.
The Cavs look to keep their hot start going as they travel to Washington for their third game in four nights.
Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (2-0) at Washington Wizards (0-1)
Where: Capital One Arena - Washington, D.C.
When: 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26
TV: FanDuel Sports Network Ohio (previously Bally Sports), NBA League Pass
Line: Cavs -9.5
Expected Cavs starting lineup: Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Cavs injury report: Max Strus - OUT (ankle), Emoni Bates - OUT (knee), JT Thor - OUT (two-way), Luke Travers - OUT (two-way)
Expected Wizards starting lineup: Bub Carrington, Jordan Poole, Bilal Coulibaly, Kyle Kuzma, Alex Sar
Wizards injury report: Saddiq Bey - OUT (knee), Malcolm Brogdon - OUT (thumb), Bub Carrington - PROBABLE (ankle), Ja’Kobe Walter - OUT (shoulder)
Fear the Sword will be hosting a live stream watch party for select games this year on Playback. Join us as we react to all the action.
What to watch for
Frontcourt advantage
The Cavs have had a soft start to their schedule. They’ve also gone against a smaller and/or inexperienced frontcourt in each game. That’s no different against Washington.
Second-overall pick Alex Sarr struggled in his first game against the Boston Celtics. He won’t be getting a break as he, and undersized power forward Kyle Kuzma, have to deal with one of the biggest front lines in the league with Allen, Mobley, and Wade.
If the Cavs are going to win this game going away, like they should, it’ll be because they dominated the paint.
Can Darius Garland break through?
Garland is playing better than what the stat sheet says he is. He’s embracing moving off-ball, playing at a higher pace, and doing a much better job of finding shooters off of drives. That, however, doesn’t show through if the shots don’t go through.
It looked like Garland was going to have a statement game against the Detroit Pistons on Saturday. He scored nine quick points but fizzled out as he couldn’t get the shot to fall. More importantly, the process that he displayed remained good.
The Wizards aren’t the toughest test, but you would like to see a night where he’s rewarded for his good play.