The Cleveland Cavaliers have had a bear of a schedule thus far. They are a strong 7-4 on the season despite playing eight of their eleven contests on the road. Only the New York Knicks have as many as their five road wins, and the only other team to play eight road games thus far, the Atlanta Hawks, have gone 1-7.
Last season the Cavs had only nine road wins total across the entire season. This group is playing at a significantly higher level than last year’s team, and the reasons for that are numerous. Injuries are starting to hit and to hit hard, but at the same time the schedule softens up and gives the Cavs eight of their next nine games at home.
The Cavs are an impressive 7-4 as they return home for a four-game homestand. What should we expect from these four matchups?
That isn’t to say this next stretch will be a walk in the park. Wednesday night the Cavs will host the Washington Wizards, one of the few teams off to a better start than Cleveland. They get a brief respite against the Detroit Pistons, the only Eastern Conference team with fewer than three wins. Then comes two consecutive games against the Boston Celtics, a team with whom the Cavs have a lot of history.
Let’s prepare for this homestand with a brief preview of each game. How is each opponent playing coming into the game, who is the matchup to watch for, and what is our prediction for each game?
Cavs: Previewing the Washington Wizards game
Time and Date: Wednesday, November 10th, 7:00 pm
Record: 7-3, T-1st in the Eastern Conference
Season Recap: The Wizards got off to a hot start out of the gates, going 5-1 and showing off their newfound depth. Spencer Dinwiddie has been really solid in his debut for the team, while Montrezl Harrell is averaging 17.7 points per game off the bench and Kyle Kuzma has looked rejuvenated free of his role-player shackles. The Wizards have scuffled a bit in the last week, losing two straight before blowing out the Memphis Grizzlies and taking down the short-handed Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday night.
Matchup to Watch: Bradley Beal vs Darius Garland. Neither of these teams is overflowing with 3-point shooters, especially given Davis Bertans’ minimized role to start the season. Beal has been the league’s second-leading scorer each of the past two seasons, but with the towering presences of Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley inside he will likely try to do his damage from the perimeter. Garland will need to match him from outside; the young point guard has been accurate to start the season but has to get up more shots to help this Cleveland offense, especially in the absence of Collin Sexton.
Prediction: The Cavs have to figure themselves out after yet another injury, this time to their leading scorer. Against a good Washington team that has had just as long to prepare as Cleveland that means a loss. Washington 104, Cleveland 100
Cavs: Previewing the Detroit Pistons game
Time and Date: Friday, November 12th, 7:30pm
Record: 1-8, 15th in the Eastern Conference
Season Recap: The Detroit Pistons are behind the Cavaliers in their franchise cycle, amassing young prospects and giving them plenty of playing time to develop. Add in the fact that No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham missed Detroit’s first five games and it’s no surprise that they have lost eight of their first nine games. They have also had a brutal recent stretch, playing last season’s top-three seeds in each of their last four games, all losses.
Matchup to Watch: Jarrett Allen vs Isaiah Stewart. Detroit’s starting center, the man they call “Beef Stew” is a load inside, 250 pounds of brute force. Stewart leads the team in offensive rebounding by a mile, and the best way for the Pistons to score effectively is to get multiple bites at the apple. Allen’s recent rebounding totals have boosted him to seventh in the league, but even so the Cavs are just 28th in defensive rebounding percentage (they get the defensive rebound just 73.3 percent of the time). Allen will need to step up and keep Beef Stew off the offensive glass to make sure the Pistons can’t hang around.
Prediction: Before the season these two teams seemed to be close in talent level, but Cleveland has proven early on they are in a different class than Detroit. It’s the NBA so anything can happen, and the Cavs are not so good they can sleepwalk through this game, but Cleveland should be victorious. Cleveland 107, Detroit 96
Cavs: Previewing the Boston Celtics games
Time and Date: Game 1: Saturday, November 13th, 8:00pm, NBA TV; Game 2: Monday, November 15th, 7:00pm
Record: As of Wednesday morning, the Celtics are 4-6, 11th in the Eastern Conference
Season Recap: With a new coach in Ime Udoka and old friend Al Horford back in tow, the Celtics had high hopes for the start of the season. Instead they stumbled, losing close games (including two in double-overtime) before being absolutely embarrassed by the Chicago Bulls on November 1st to fall to 2-5. Since then they rebounded to smother the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, holding each under 80 points, before losing to the Dallas Mavericks on a Luka Doncic buzzer-beater Saturday.
Matchup to Watch: Jayson Tatum vs anyone tasked with guarding him. The weak spot of this Cleveland roster is at small forward, and their imperfect option at the 3, Lauri Markkanen, may not be cleared of the health and safety protocols for one or both games. With Jaylen Brown out with a hamstring injury it will fall to Tatum to carry the offense, and he has proven capable in his short career of doing so. Can the combination of Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens and Dylan Windler keep Tatum at bay? How does Evan Mobley hold up when the Celtics go small and put Tatum at the 4? If Tatum is held in check, the Celtics will have a hard time scoring.
Predictions: The Celtics have one of the best defenses in the league, and in starting Al Horford and Robert Williams they are one of the few teams able to match the size of the Cavs (sort of; Williams is undersized for a center at 6’8″). Especially without Collin Sexton and potentially Markkanen and Kevin Love, the Cavs will be hard-pressed to keep up on offense. The idea is that they can hold Boston back on the other end.
In their first game the Celtics will be coming in off of a tough back-to-back against the Milwaukee Bucks, while the Cavs’ back-to-back against the Pistons might afford J.B. Bickerstaff the opportunity to rest his starters. Once the Celtics have had a game under their belt to adjust to the force of Jarrett Allen and Mobley they should be able to improve in the rematch on Monday.
Game 1: Cleveland 98, Boston 94; Game 2: Boston 103, Cleveland 95
In total that would be a 2-2 homestand, a reasonable result for a team missing multiple key players and facing a few tough opponents. Fans of the Cavs can hope for more, fear for less, and in the end will likely be satisfied with two wins. Storm clouds loom on the horizon, with Brooklyn, Golden State and Phoenix lurking after this homestand, so it will be important not to let go of the rope too much here.