Cavaliers face their toughest stretch of schedule in January
The 2019-20 NBA schedule was released on Monday afternoon, and as expected, that Cleveland Cavaliers are no longer the huge prime time draw they once were.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are not on the Christmas Day slate of games or the nationally-televised opening night games on Oct. 22. to start the 2019-20 season. There are very few games that qualify for “can’t miss TV” like there were during the LeBron James Cavs’ eras.
The Cavaliers do have an ESPN game, Nov. 8 against the Washington Wizards, though (per the team’s schedule infographic). There are also a few tough stretches on their schedule.
Looking ahead, the month of January represents a huge challenge to a young Cavs’ team and the way it looks, looks like the toughest month of the schedule. The January slate includes three back-to-backs as well as a long road trip out West.
They will play 16 games that month, with nearly half of them being away from the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
One particularly brutal section of the schedule is their West coast trip in mid-January, which I see as currently being the toughest stretch of 2019-20. They start out the road trip on the ninth against the Pistons – not too bad.
They then gear up to face the Denver Nuggets (in Denver) on the 11th; the Nuggets established themselves as contenders in the Western Conference last season as the 2-seed in the West playoffs and lost a tight seven-game series in the West Semifinals against the Portland Trail Blazers.
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Taking that into account, the Nuggets’ potent offense led by Nikola Jokic will surely serve as a challenge for the Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that struggled mightily on the defensive end last year (with the league’s worst defensive rating, per NBA.com).
It doesn’t get easier from there, either. After Denver, the Cavs head to the city of angels to face the LeBron and now Anthony Davis-led Los Angeles Lakers on the 13th.
The very next night, the Cavs go against the new-look Los Angeles Clippers, now featuring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Going from Denver to back-to-back games against the Lakers and Clippers – two title favorites – is a really tall task.
Those two teams were largely constructed this summer and there is no guarantee they’ll meld together harmoniously but one cannot deny the sheer talent on those rosters.
The Cavs then get two days off, before matching up against Ja Morant and the young Memphis Grizzlies, followed the next evening by the Chicago Bulls. While neither of these teams were playoff teams last year, they both have some young talent.
The Bulls are the last game of that road trip.
Kevin Love and the Cleveland Cavaliers come home and have a few days off before facing the New York Knicks, Wizards, and Bulls again, which is a relatively light week. They conclude the month at the Pistons but home the next night in a matchup against the new-look New Orleans Pelicans.
Playing Zion Williamson and company on the second night of a back-to-back will test the young Cavs’ resilience, and hopefully Love can provide leadership and rally the troops a bit there. Cleveland then concludes the month with the reigning world champion Toronto Raptors.
Since the 2019-20 season has not started, we really do not know how good certain teams will be, as it is hard to estimate the rigors of the schedule. That being said, in January, the Cavs will face a ton of talent including Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George as well as a few hyped rookies such as Ja Morant, Coby White, and Zion Williamson, and I see that being the toughest stretch of the year as of right now.
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This will most likely be the toughest portion of the schedule they’ll face especially with it being during January – the middle of the season when many teams are dealing with injuries and fatigue. It will also no doubt test a young roster including a head coach with no NBA experience in John Beilein.