The Cleveland Cavs and the champion Boston Celtics are the only undefeated teams left in the Eastern Conference. After making Cavs franchise history in their blowout win against the Toronto Raptors in their season opener, Cleveland defeated the Washington Wizards 135-116 on Saturday. The Cavs improved to 3-0 in the young season and are ranked No. 4 in ClutchPoints’ Week 1 NBA Power Rankings, per Brett Siegel.
“Nobody should be surprised to see the Cleveland Cavaliers climb into the top five of the NBA power rankings. Donovan Mitchell and Co. have looked great under Kenny Atkinson, and they really haven’t struggled in any of the games they’ve played to this point,” Siegel writes. “Then again, the Cavs have faced three of the worst teams in the league, so these wins should be taken with a grain of salt.”
Cleveland has won by 10+ points in all three games, including a 113-101 victory against the Detriot Pistons, who finished 14-68 for the NBA’s worst record last season. The Wizards, 15-67, were a close second. Still, when the Raptors found themselves on the wrong side of Cavs franchise history for their lopsided defeat to start the regular season, head coach Kenny Atkinson led his team to three consecutive victories in his first week in Cleveland.
It’s an impressive start to the 2024-25 campaign. The champion Boston Celtics (3-0) unsurprisingly topped this week’s Power Rankings, with the Oklahoma City Thunder (3-0) and the New York Knicks (2-1) rounding out the top-3. The Cavs also reached No. 4 on NBA.com’s Power Rankings, with all four of the NBA’s remaining undefeated teams at the top of the rankings.
The Thunder and the Los Angeles Lakers follow the champion Celtics. Then, the Cavs, per NBA.com’s John Schuhmann.
The Cavs had a soft schedule in Week 1, but they took care of business and became the first team since the 2017-18 Clippers with three double-digit wins in its first three games,” Schuhmann wrote.
Cavs make franchise history in blowout win versus Raptors
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
The Cleveland Cavs’ historic 136-106 blowout win over the Toronto Raptors in their season opener was something fans had never seen before. Literally, as the Cavs’ stats and information’s X, formerly Twitter, account pointed out after the win.
“The Cavs’ 136 PTS tonight is also the most the team has EVER scored in a season opener. The previous mark was 133 PTS at Charlotte to start the 1988-89 season.”
The Cavs will look to go 4-0 when they face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Monday.
