Five Questions Ahead of Wizards vs. Cavaliers

The Washington Wizards face the league-best Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Cup.

Oct 26, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) and Washington Wizards forward Alexandre Sarr (20) talk at the free throw line during the fourth quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Washington Wizards are getting ready for their matchup against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

To learn more about the Cavs, we spoke with Cleveland Cavaliers On SI reporter Spencer Davies.

The Cavs are the best team in the NBA this season. What’s the biggest reason why that’s the case?

For me, I think it's the depth. Kenny Atkinson has trusted in a lot of different players this season and it's paid dividends in keeping the Core Four of Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen fresh going into the winter.

Despite a dial-back in production this past week, Ty Jerome has arguably been the team's fourth or fifth-best player, depending on the night. You're seeing a collective effort each and every night bringing it, and it's not a one-man job type of deal -- although it's nice to have Garland and Mitchell in your back pocket when your team needs a pick-me-up of sorts. 

What’s one thing people should know about the Cavaliers that can’t be found in a box score?

Paraphrasing here, but my favorite quote of Kenny Atkinson's thus far is how Cleveland has a confident group that isn't by any means cocky; they just know they're good. There's more juice in the locker room because of unfinished business last postseason. 

To me, the front office's belief to run it back as the roster was without making big changes gave them that boost. These guys genuinely admire one another and always have each other's backs, so it's easy to see how off-court relationships work out well on the floor.

Who is the Cavs’ X Factor?

I think it's a split between Caris LeVert and Dean Wade. Defensively, those two bring a dynamic that allows guys like Garland, Mitchell, Jerome -- even Sam Merrill and Isaac Okoro -- to pressure the ball more on the perimeter. There's also an efficiency offensively that comes with LeVert that we haven't seen in his career thus far, and Wade, when healthy, is also doing more cutting and off-ball than being the static spacer we've seen in the past. 

If the Cavaliers were to somehow lose against the Wizards, what would be the reason why?

The biggest thorn in Cleveland's side has been allowing offensive rebounds and fouling too much. Otherwise, I would say an off-shooting night from long-range would put them in a position to defend and maybe get down on themselves. But as we saw Sunday against the Boston Celtics, shorthanded albeit, the Cavs lived with an average offensive night and continued to defend even while down.

What’s your prediction for the game?

I am never one to overlook any opponent, but I have a hard time believing that the Wizards can come into Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and outscore the wine-and-gold. It is the NBA and Washington did beat the Atlanta Hawks twice, and they outplayed the Cavs twice, so there's a "never say never" element to this wild league. 

I also really, really like Bilal Coulibaly's game and how the team is allowing him to play through mistakes and misses to make him better down the road. But on Tuesday, I just can't see Cleveland overlooking Washington. I'd be surprised if the wine-and-gold didn't win this by at least 10.

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