The toughest stretch of the Cavaliers’ second half

With the Cleveland Cavaliers‘ first-half schedule coming to a close in a few days, the Wine and Gold will use the NBA All-Star break to rest up and get ready to go for the second half of their schedule.

Speaking of that second half schedule, the NBA recently released it within the last few days, and it certainly gives the Cavaliers a few breaks from the tough schedule they’ve seen over the past month.

Cleveland has just 14 games against Western Conference foes over the second half of the schedule while facing 22 Eastern Conference teams.

While they get a bit of a reprieve from the schedule makers, the beginning of their second half schedule sees them play 10 of their first 15 games on the road.

I will focus on the games between March 24 and April 8, where the Cavaliers play seven of eight games on the road.

That’s the toughest stretch of the second half for the Cavs.

These road games could provide some trouble for the Cavaliers because they hold a 4-12 road record this season and had dropped their past nine road games before Saturday night’s win at the Philadelphia 76ers.

After a four-game homestand, Cleveland opens its road trip with a stop in the Windy City to face the Chicago Bulls, a team that sits on the fringe of a top-eight seed. Here they will have to contend with Zach LaVine, who is averaging 28.7 points, and second-year guard Coby White, who is putting up 15 points and five assists per game.

Cleveland then travels out West to take on the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. Anthony Davis’ status here could be crucial as they have lost four of five games without their big man. Even if Davis plays, Cleveland could stick around as they gave the Lakers a game back in late January.

However, the Cavs travel up to Sacramento the next night to take on a Kings team led by talented guard De’Aaron Fox. The Kings recently went on a nine-game losing streak of their own, and this could be the Cavaliers’ best chance to win on this mini three-game West Coast trip.

After a day off, Cleveland travels up to Utah to face the league’s top team. The Jazz own a 15-2 home record, and the Cavaliers will have their hands full with the likes of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert. While a win may not be obtainable here, a competitive performance by the young Cavaliers could give them confidence moving forward.

Cleveland briefly comes home for one game against Philadelphia before heading back on the road to face the Miami Heat. Even though Miami is currently under .500 on the season, they have played much better over the past few weeks, and contending with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo is surely no small task. And for further context, Jimmy Butler had an extended absence due to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

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The final two games of the second half of road games take the Cleveland Cavaliers back to the Western Conference as they first face the San Antonio Spurs and then face the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Despite having COVID-19 issues recently, which led to Cleveland’s past game originally scheduled against them being postponed, San Antonio finds itself in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. You know the Spurs will be well-coached, and guards DeMar DeRozan along with Dejounte Murray are a tough task for any defenses.

Finally, the game against the Thunder will be a chance for the Cavaliers to exact some revenge after OKC came into their building earlier in February and topped Cleveland by 16 points.

The Collin Sexton/Shai Gilgeous-Alexander matchup is always a fun one to watch. And if Cleveland can get Larry Nance Jr. and one would imagine even fairly soon, Kevin Love back on the floor, it would surely give the Cavaliers a better shot at getting a road win.

As noted earlier, Cleveland has had its struggles on the road this season. But during the second half of the season, it would be a promising sign in their rebuild to compete and win these road games, just like they did last night against the top seed in the East, albeit without Tobias Harris.

Another stretch that will be quite the test for the Cavaliers is their May schedule. As of now, just one of their final nine games is against a team not currently in the playoff or play-in seeds.

Facing multiple playoff-caliber teams down the stretch will give the Cleveland Cavaliers opportunities to assess their young core before going into the offseason.

But with their road issues this season, those seven road games in late March through early April will be the Cavaliers’ toughest test in the second half of the season. Picking up a few road victories and showing overall competitiveness would be a positive sign for the remainder of the season.