The Cleveland Cavaliers released their NBA In-Season Tournament schedule in a series of Tuesday tweets.
Cleveland will take on four other teams in its Group Stage games, according to a Tuesday release. Six group stage winners and two “Wild Card” teams will move on to the single-elimination Knockout rounds. The higher-seeded teams will host the quarterfinals games. The semifinals and finals games will take place in Las Vegas.
Will the Cleveland Cavaliers win the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament? Or will another team take the crown?
Solid Chance of Taking Top Spot in Group A Standings
During their group-stage games, Cleveland will be matched up with the Indiana Pacers, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers and Atlanta Hawks.
Cleveland earned a combined 7-1 record against Indiana and Detroit during the 2022-23 season. Guard Donovan Mitchell dropped 40 points during a 115-105 win over the Pacers in April, earning his 12th 40-point game and his second against the Pacers that season.
The Cavs went 1-2 in both of their series against the 76ers and the Hawks. With the uncertainty around the 76ers and All-Star guard James Harden, the Cavs may have a better chance of defeating Philadelphia during the group stage. Cleveland will still have to gameplan for a few of Philly’s other scoring options in center Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey, who took first and third place on the 76ers’ roster with 33.1 and 20.3 points per game during the 2022-23 season, respectively.
The Cavs may have an excellent chance at taking the top spot in the Group A standings and moving on to the elimination round if they can find a way to claim victory over the Sixers and the Hawks.
Improved roster from last season
The Cavs will have plenty of talented teams to face even if they make it out of the Group A standings.
The other Eastern Conference groups ahead of them feature teams who could cause some issues for the Cavs if they move onto the elimination round. Group B features the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat and New York Knicks. The C Group contains the Boston Celtics and the Brooklyn Nets. Both teams made the playoffs last season.
The Cavs went 5-2 against the Celtics and the Nets during the 2022-23 season. Cleveland made up for a 117-113 March loss at TD Garden with a 118-114 overtime win at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse five days later. The Cavs went 4-4 against Milwaukee and Miami and 1-3 against New York in the regular season.
It will be challenging to overcome some of the Eastern Conference’s more formidable teams and move on to the championship game in Las Vegas.
Still, it’s not impossible.
The Cavs addressed some of their more pressing issues through the NBA’s free agency period and the 2023 NBA Draft. They added extra shooting help with the additions of forwards Georges Niang and Max Strus. They added a high-potential forward in Emoni Bates during the 2023 NBA Draft and signed him to a two-way contract. They retained one of their better scorers in guard Caris LeVert. All while keeping their big four from last season intact.
The Cavs will have plenty to prove heading into the In-Season Tournament. They already proved they took steps towards becoming a contending team when they finished last season with a 51-31 record, earned impressive wins over some of the East’s top contenders earlier in the year and finished with the top defensive rating in the NBA’s regular season.
Now, the Cavs will have to take to the inaugural tournament and prove once more that they are ready to roll with the best of them before making one final push for the playoffs.