Cavs: Projecting how team will fare in first quarter of 2021-22

Projecting the Cavs first five games of 2021-22

Looking at their first five games, the Cavaliers start the regular season on the road against a gritty Memphis Grizzlies team before returning home against the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets. The Grizzlies made an interesting trade this offseason, moving Jonas Valanciunas for Steven Adams in a deal that worsens their offense. Aside from Jonas, their core from last year is still intact and the team should be better with Jaren Jackson Jr. back healthy.

This game could go either way but I have the Grizzlies coming away with a win.

Coming back home for the next two games, the Cavaliers should beat the Hornets as this is a team that the Cavaliers have split the series with over the last two seasons. The Hawks game is an interesting one. The Cavs won the season series 2-1 last season with Trae Young averaging 19.3 points, shooting a putrid 36.5 percent from the field through those three games.

With a new and improved team, the Cavaliers should get a win here if they are able to really zero in on Trae Young as they did last year.

The final two games in this five-game stretch are against the Denver Nuggets and LA Clippers. Both teams will be without one of their top two scoring options as Jamal Murray and Kawhi Leonard are both expected to miss most, if not all of the season as they recover from ACL injuries.

Despite the respective teams’ losses, both are still a tough match, and with these being road games, I can see the Cavs dropping both games.