NBA Monday - Spurs vs Cavs Injuries

The big story in tonight’s matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and the Cleveland Cavaliers is not who is playing, but the guys that are out. The Spurs got some bad news as the word out of San Antonio is that the recent hand injury to Tony Parker is going to force him to miss some time. It’s going to be tough, but they’re going to have to get by without their court leaders for tonight's showdown against the Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena.

There is a very real possibility that they may have lost All-Star point guard Tony Parker for the remainder of the regular season. Parker suffered a broken bone in his right hand near the end of the first half of Saturday’s win over Memphis. He will be re-evaluated this week, but all the signs are pointing to a lengthy absence.

The news out of Cleveland is far less serious, but it does involve their superstar, LeBron James. James is going to be a game time decision as he is a little tender from a minor ankle injury he suffered Friday against the Detroit Pistons. James did not participate in the morning shootaround and coach Mike Brown appears that he is leaning toward resting him.

The Cavs are doing the smart thing by resting LeBron as having him healthy for the playoffs is the most important thing. An outside factor that is allowing them to give James some extra rest is the recent poor play of the Los Angeles Lakers. With LA losing a string of games lately, it has allowed the Cavs to keep a healthy lead for the NBA’s best record, which decides home court advantage in the NBA Finals.

 The Spurs are clearly hoping that the reigning MVP LeBron James chooses to sit out as James sat out of Cleveland’s last against the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland lost that game.

In the big picture though, San Antonio has much bigger problems. Parker is the team's second-leading scorer at 16.6 points per game, but is the floor general, and without a reliable ball handler, the Spurs are going to struggle.

"We're just beginning to look like we expected to look about a month and a half ago," Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. "The Parker thing is really deflating at this point."

Here are some NBA Betting trends for this matchup:

    * Under is 3-1-1 in the last 5 meetings in Cleveland.
    * Favorite is 6-2 ATS in the last 8 meetings.
    * Spurs are 2-6 ATS in the last 8 meetings in Cleveland.
    * Spurs are 1-4 ATS in the last 5 meetings.

Tonight’s matchup will be the first of two meetings this season, with Cleveland heading to San Antonio on March 26. The Cavaliers dominated both matchups last season and have had the Spurs number at home of late, winning seven of the last 11 meetings at the Quicken Loans Arena.

There has yet to be a line set on this game as they oddsmakers wait for the status of LeBron, but regardless, I think the Cavs win this one by at least 5.