Washington Wizards vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/26/2022

Time: 8 p.m. ET

Venue: Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, OH

Where to watch: BSOH, NBCSWA

DraftKings: Check back later

BetMGM: Check back later

Caesars: Check back later

Wizards: 27-31

Cavaliers: 35-24

If you were hoping to see Kristaps Porzingis make his Washington Wizards debut on Saturday against the Cleveland Cavaliers, well I have some news for you. Don't get your hopes up. I know we keep talking about it as a broken record at this point, but when we're discussing the most shocking trade of the NBA trade deadline a couple weeks ago and the main piece in that trade is not even playing yet, what are we even doing?

I mean, it's not like the Wizards playoff hopes are resting on a 7 foot 3 pure shooting big man who has the insane athletic ability and can block shots without even needing to jump more than a foot. But yet here we are with the Wizards, playing on the second night back to back, and we have to sit here wondering whenever Porzingis is actually going to play.

At the time of publishing, the Wizards are going to be playing the San Antonio Spurs at home on Friday. You can read the preview of that game by clicking here. Now to ask the Wizards to go on the road and play one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, who despite being shorthanded still have a lot of good talent on that group, is a really tall task.

The Wizards have been alternating wins and losses over the last couple of weeks, with their most recent being a 117-103 victory against the Brooklyn Nets before the All-Star break on February 17th. One player that I don't think we've talked about nearly enough when it comes to the Wizards' future is first-round pick Corey Kispert.

The three-point shooter, who's picked in the first round of this past NBA draft, had 16 points on four made three-pointers in Washington's victory over Brooklyn. I don't think we discussed the severity in regards to trading Davis Bertans. Kispert automatically becomes Washington’s top three-point shooter, and if he can continue this type of performance, this will surely help the balance in the Wizards lineup. I mean, come on, seven players scored double figures against Brooklyn. That's kind of absurd.

I will say this. There is still plenty of reason to be excited about the Cleveland Cavaliers. And if you are having any reservations or any doubts about how this young team can finish strong the rest of the way and get to the playoffs, you don't need to worry about that because they are going to get there.

But I can also understand if you are a little bit concerned given Cleveland’s latest run of bad injury luck. All-Star point guard Darius Garland is dealing with a bone bruise in his back and will undergo treatment, meaning he could miss a little bit of time. Not to mention now that Cleveland’s newest sixth man, Caris LeVert, Is going to miss at least a week or two with a sprained right foot.

So, two important members of Cleveland's backcourt are going to be out for at least a little bit and I can see why there would be a lot of hesitation to get on board the Cavaliers bandwagon. But I would strongly urge everyone involved do not look at the backcourt situation with Cleveland, but watch the big men upfront.

Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen are going to be forces to be reckoned with for a very long time. And so long as those two are patrolling the paint, working an inside-outside game with Mobley stretching out to the three-point line and Allen cleaning up for rebounds, there is going to be many chances for the Cavs to win games on any given night. 

So at the end of the day there is that understanding that there needs to be good point guard play, and that's where the Cavaliers can hope that Rajon Rondo will make an impact when he gets into the lineup. But there is going to be an adjustment, as we saw on Thursday in Cleveland's 3-point loss to the Detroit Pistons. All five starters scored in double figures, which is great. Even Rondo had 12 points and nine assists. But there weren't enough attempts to Mobley, who was only three of eight from the floor, and Allen only had nine attempts but made five of them.

In my opinion, those two need to get the ball more and it's going to be up to Rondo, one of the smartest floor generals we've seen in our era, 2 get them the ball in spots that are going to help them. Because they have to figure this out over the course of the next couple of weeks without Garland and without LeVert, but if they can and stay afloat without them, that's going to make a huge difference for Cleveland heading into the playoffs.

So for as much as I want to think the Wizards can bounce back and get a good winhere especially coming out the second night of back-to-back, I think this sets up well into Cleveland's favor. The calves are going to need a win after that shortcoming against Detroit, and I do believe that Cleveland is a much better team than what it showed, especially defensively. Rondo cannot be a - 15, and Mobley cannot be a - 10. Fix it up on defense, tighten some things, and it will be an easy win for Cleveland. Cavs by 16

The Wizards are 2-11 ATS when playing three games in 10 days the past three seasons.

The Cavaliers are 59-33 ATS when playing their second game in seven days.

The Cavaliers are 18-36 ATS after losing three of their last four.

PG: Raul Neto

SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

SF: Corey Kispert

PF: Kyle Kuzma

C: Thomas Bryant

PG: Brandon Goodwin

SG: Isaac Okoro

SF: Lauri Markkanen

PF: Evan Mobley

C: Jarrett Allen

Wizards: Bradley Beal (out), Kristaps Porzingis (out)

Cavaliers: Darius Garland (out), Rajon Rondo (out), Caris LeVert (out)

Points: Kyle Kuzma -- 16.3

Rebounds: Kyle Kuzma -- 8.8

Assists: Kyle Kuzma -- 3.1

Points: Darius Garland -- 20.3

Rebounds: Jarrett Allen -- 11.0

Assists: Darius Garland -- 8.0