CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cavs head into their Wednesday night matchup against the Kings looking to snap a two-game skid. Tipoff is set for 10 p.m. Eastern.

After reeling off 16 straight victories, Cleveland has now dropped consecutive contests, including Tuesday’s 132-119 loss to the Clippers.

The Cavs have started strong in both losses, combining for 83 first-quarter points. However, they’ve struggled to sustain that offensive rhythm, failing to reach 30 points in any of the subsequent three quarters.

At 56-12, Cleveland remains tied with Oklahoma City for the best record in the NBA, and while two losses don’t signal immediate concern, the team will want to regain its composure quickly against a Sacramento squad missing a key piece.

Cleveland, now back at full strength with Evan Mobley’s return from a one-game absence will look to utilize his size and growing skill set, especially against a hindered Kings squad.

Sacramento will be without its offensive fulcrum, Domantas Sabonis, who is sidelined with a right ankle sprain that will keep him out for at least 10 games. But the Kings recently bolstered its wing depth by acquiring Zach LaVine to pair with DeMar DeRozan for moments like these.

Taking advantage of Sacramento’s interior void

Sabonis is the hub of everything the Kings do offensively, orchestrating their half-court sets with his high-level passing, screening, and ability to generate paint touches.

The absence of Sabonis and De’Aaron Fox’s departure earlier this season means a lack of high-post facilitation, lack of creation rather than isolation-centric offense and a significant rebounding deficit.

Cleveland’s frontcourt of Mobley and Jarrett Allen should be primed to dominate the interior against a depleted Kings front line, forcing the Kings to adjust its style of play.

Hunter’s two-way impact

One bright spot for Cleveland has been the versatility of De’Andre Hunter, showcasing his defensive prowess and offensive bag since joining the Cavs.

Acquired at the trade deadline, Hunter has been tasked with checking the toughest assignments in the league and has performed admirably. That defensive presence will be vital once again as he shifts his focus to Sacramento’s revamped perimeter attack. Expect Hunter to take on the challenge of slowing down both LaVine and DeRozan, two isolation-heavy scorers who thrive in the midrange.

Beyond his defense, Hunter’s offensive contributions will also be key. His ability to space the floor and attack closeouts provides Cleveland with an additional scoring threat, and he showed flashes against the Clippers of how he can complement the All-Star trio of Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, and Mobley.

With Sacramento likely forced into smaller lineups without Sabonis, Hunter’s ability to exploit mismatches on both ends could be a swing factor in this game.

Cleveland’s offense vs. Sacramento’s adjustments

The Cavs enter this matchup boasting the league’s top-ranked offense, as it’s been for the majority of the season. The Kings, who struggle to generate consistent stops even at full strength, now face an even greater challenge with their best interior defender unavailable.

Cleveland has the personnel to exploit this main weakness.

Garland’s ability to manipulate defenses in the pick-and-roll will put pressure on the Kings’ interior, while Mitchell’s shot creation and Mobley’s improving offensive repertoire should allow the Cavs to dictate terms on that end of the floor.

While the Kings are still dangerous with the scoring punch LaVine, and DeRozan, the absence of Sabonis leaves a glaring hole that the Cavs will certainly attack on both ends of the floor.

How to watch the Cavs: See how to watch the Cavs games with this handy game-by-game TV schedule.

Here’s what to know about the matchup:

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Sacramento Kings

Series: First of two matchups of the regular season.

Where: Golden 1 Center

When: 10:00 p.m. ET.

The point spread: Cavs minus-5.5; O/U 234.5

TV: FanDuel Sports Network – Ohio

Injury Report

CAVS:

Out:

Darius Garland (rest); Emoni Bates (two-way); Luke Traves (two-way); Nae’Qwan Tomlin (two-way).

KINGS:

Out:

Domantas Sabonis (ankle); Isaiah Crawford (two-way); Mason Jones (two-way).