{"id":81251,"date":"2025-08-19T13:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81251\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T13:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T13:08:08","slug":"cleveland-cavaliers-face-early-challenge-in-nba-schedule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/81251\/","title":{"rendered":"Cleveland Cavaliers Face Early Challenge in NBA Schedule"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_fls2iqs8k\">Starting last year&#8217;s NBA regular season, the <a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/cleveland-cavaliers-among-most-desperate-teams-nba-title\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cleveland Cavaliers<\/a> began their dominant 64-win campaign on fire.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_fbshofduf\">This season, though, the Cavaliers might not have it that easy\u2013\u2013 as the first week of Cleveland&#8217;s schedule could certainly present a few tough matchups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_n6udn8fj3\">They&#8217;ll start the year on the road in Madison Square Garden against the New York Knicks, then across town facing the Brooklyn Nets, before they&#8217;ll then go on to make their home opener happen vs. the Milwaukee Bucks, then it&#8217;s back on the road against another tough East opponent in the Detroit Pistons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_e3oz8ts47\">That&#8217;s three road games out of the four, and three playoff teams in the Eastern Conference from last season\u2013 also gearing up for another appearance this time around, too.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_ps2gvlrjr\">For <a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/news\/what-to-know-about-every-eastern-conference-teams-first-week\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NBA.com<\/a>, while the Cavaliers did manage to go on a 15-0 start to begin their previous regular season, while also going 15-1 against those aforementioned teams across last year, seeing how they fare this time around will be worth keeping a keen eye on.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_ddz5mmccr\">&#8220;A year ago, the Cavs tied the NBA\u2019s second-longest win streak to open a season with a franchise-best 15-0 start. Repeating that early success will be a challenge with three of Cleveland\u2019s first four games coming against top-six finishers in the East last season. The Cavs open the season with an NYC doubleheader, facing the Knicks and Nets, before returning for their home opener against Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. Cleveland closes its opening week in Detroit against the rising Pistons. A year ago, the Cavs went a combined 15-1 against these four opponents. Can they replicate that success and get off to another strong start?&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_17nbrzbaj\">The Cavaliers have proven that they can stack up with the likes of anyone across the regular season, and have a balanced attack on both ends that makes it tough for opposing big men to get hot against the towering duo of Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, while Donovan Mitchell can carry the load on the other end. Their postseason calamities are one thing, but as a regular-season juggernaut, Cleveland knows their place.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"Apr 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with center Jarrett Allen (31) \" title=\"Apr 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with center Jarrett Allen (31) \"\/><\/p>\n<p>Apr 28, 2025; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) celebrates with center Jarrett Allen (31) against the Miami Heat in the second quarter during game four for the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images \/ Sam Navarro-Imagn Images<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_bno6a8rvu\">This time, the Cavs may have to go on without the services of Darius Garland to start the year, in the event he does miss time with his lingering toe injury, but rattling off a successful start still remains well in play, even while up against some of the better talents in the East like the Knicks, Bucks, and Pistons.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_a71ilrs3x\">That 15-0 start from last year might just be an anomaly, but if the Cavs are able to capitalize in their first week of the season against a bit of tough competition it should be a sign of good things to come for this regular season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_0by04hvmx\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/cleveland-cavaliers-among-most-desperate-teams-nba-title\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE: Cavaliers Among Most Desperate Teams for NBA Title<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_vjq328739\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/former-all-star-cleveland-cavaliers-evan-mobley-hit-his-ceiling\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE: Former All-Star Believes Cavaliers&#8217; Evan Mobley Has Hit His Ceiling<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_zdsc4dsn9\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/the-cleveland-cavaliers-will-be-in-nba-spotlight-next-season\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE: The Cleveland Cavaliers Will Be In NBA&#8217;s Spotlight Next Season<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_x5ix74d3r\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/cleveland-cavaliers-new-win-loss-projection-after-nba-schedule-release\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MORE: Cavaliers Get New Win-Loss Projection After NBA Schedule Release<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_o6g9pldku\"><a class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_12dk8yv\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/nba\/cavaliers\/news\/kyrie-irving-breaks-down-lebron-james-cleveland-cavaliers-fallout\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">MORE: 4 Key Dates, Games On Cleveland Cavaliers 2025-26 Schedule<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Starting last year&#8217;s NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers began their dominant 64-win campaign on fire. This season,&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[49,48,459,82],"class_list":["post-81251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}