The Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Washington Wizards on Friday, December 12, at 7:00 PM ET at Capital One Arena, with both teams navigating injury concerns. Cleveland enters 14-11 on the season and is coming off a 94-99 home loss to Golden State, while Washington is 3-19 and on a three-game losing streak.
Cleveland will be without Jarrett Allen (right third finger strain), Sam Merrill (right hand sprain), Larry Nance Jr. (right calf strain), and Max Strus (left foot surgery – Jones fracture). Luke Travers is unavailable due to a two-way G League assignment.
Washington is missing Bilal Coulibaly (right oblique strain), Corey Kispert (right thumb distal phalanx fracture), Khris Middleton (right knee soreness), and Alex Sarr (right adductor strain). Malaki Branham is listed as questionable with a right thumb sprain.
Cleveland will rely on Donovan Mitchell, who is averaging 30.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game, and Evan Mobley, contributing 18.9 points and 9.1 rebounds. De’Andre Hunter (16.0 points) and Jaylon Tyson (13.0 points) will also play significant roles in maintaining offensive efficiency.
The Wizards’ lineup will center around Sarr, posting 19.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, with CJ McCollum adding 18.6 points and 3.4 assists. Kyshawn George contributes 15.2 points per game, while Tre Johnson and Marvin Bagley III provide secondary scoring and rebounding support.
This is the second matchup of the season, with Cleveland winning the first meeting 148-115 at Washington on November 7.
