NBA Cleveland CavaliersSan Antonio Spurs

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. San Antonio Spurs: Game Preview, Prediction

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By @DSchultz89

James Kawhi NBA

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Cleveland Cavaliers (41-25) vs. San Antonio Spurs (40-23)

Game Time, TV: Monday, March 12 – 9:30 p.m. ET on NBATV

Projected Starting Lineups:

Cleveland Cavaliers: PG: Kyrie Irving, SG: J.R. Smith, SF: LeBron James, PF: Kevin Love, C: Timofey Mozgov

San Antonio Spurs: PG: Tony Parker, SG: Danny Green, SF: Kawhi Leonard, PF: Tim Duncan, C: Tiago Splitter

The red-hot San Antonio Spurs will play host to the surging Cleveland Cavaliers in a potential NBA Finals preview Thursday night.

Just when everyone started to count the Spurs out (again), they have come alive in the final stages of the season. Parker’s rebirth and Leonard’s rise to stardom have elevated this team to six-straight wins. They might still be a little banged up (Duncan and Manu Ginobili are currently battling injuries), but as long as they are healthy come playing time, they will be a force to be reckoned with.

After a lot of criticism to begin the season, the Cavaliers have turned a corner. LeBron James is back to playing like an MVP, and mid-season acquisitions J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Timofey Mozgov have fit in better than anyone could have expected. The Cavaliers are jelling and they are dangerous right now.

The key matchup for this game will be James vs. Leonard. The latter earned the nickname “The Kingslayer” during the 2014 NBA Finals thanks to his lockdown defense on James. If he can continue to play lights-out on the offensive end of the floor like he did recently against the Toronto Raptors, the Spurs will be in terrific shape.

In the end, I see the Cavaliers spoiling the Spurs’ winning streak. They have to lose at some point, and being that two of their main guys are dealing with ailments, I would not be surprised if Cleveland steals this one near the end of the game.

Prediction: Cavaliers 105, Spurs 102.

Dan Schultz is a Senior Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @dschultz89. “Like” him on Facebook and add him on Google.

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