Upstart Cavs will be in national spotlight in their share of games in 2022-23

Last season, it was nice to see the Cleveland Cavaliers take marketed strides. The Cavaliers doubled their win total from the year previously, leading to 44 wins.

Cleveland was eventually bounced in the Play-In Tournament after losses to the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks, but last year was far better than anybody could’ve expected coming into the year.

The Cavaliers stumbled down the closing the stretch of the campaign, partially because of injuries, youth and inconsistent play. It was still a year where much of the play was encouraging, and after their improvements in 2021-22, fans should be optimistic about the 2022-23 season.

With this upcoming season now steadily approaching in a couple of months, it’ll be exciting to see how the group follows up the past campaign. I’m pumped, to say the least.

Now, the 2022-23 schedule is not quite released yet; the league with do so on Wednesday afternoon at 3 PM. That said, for now, there were a few games that were leaked, as an appetizer for what’s to come.

Reports coming from Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com and David Kaplan of ESPN 1000 Chicago and NBC Sports Chicago stated that Cleveland will take on the Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls on the road in their first two games of the season. I would imagine the Chicago game is likely Cleveland’s second, in that sense.

Jovan Buha of The Athletic also then reported on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Lakers would play at the Cavaliers on Dec. 6, in what will be a nationally televised game on TNT.

In another report on Tuesday, it was noteworthy that the aforementioned Fedor express that the Cavs will be featured in a “decent” amount of nationally televised games in 2022-23.

The upstart Cavs will have their share of games in the national spotlight this upcoming season, where hopefully they shine.

Given the Cavaliers’ success last season, largely due to the contributions of guys such as Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley, it’s understandable that the Wine and Gold will have their share of national TV contests.

Garland and Allen made their first All-Star appearances last season, with them both repping the hometown Cavaliers then, and both should continue to get better from here. Mobley was the runner-up for the Rookie of the Year, meanwhile, and his two-way potential is sky high. For a rookie, he was able to affect games in so many ways, too, which is so rare.

With more experience to come this season, the Cavs should again get notable contributions from those players, and guys such as Kevin Love, who was terrific in a shift to a supersub role, and Dean Wade and Lamar Stevens came on as defensive players last season. I wouldn’t discount what Ricky Rubio provided pre-injury, either, and him being back via free agency was an understandable move, if he can get himself back into things by December/January.

We’ll have to see what plays out in regards to Collin Sexton, who currently is a restricted free agent and could reportedly potentially play out the 2022-23 campaign on the $7.2 million qualifying offer if both sides don’t come to an agreement on a new deal. Either way, he can still give the team a big lift, with his offensive capabilities. It’d be cool to see him in the national spotlight, among others, too, for what it’s worth.

Anyhow, it’s again uncertain as to the rest of the schedule for now for the Cavaliers, but that opening matchup with Toronto, featuring the 2022 Rookie of the Year in Scottie Barnes against Mobley and company is a fascinating start, for one.

Those two clubs look to be jockeying for position in the playoff picture once again this season; Toronto lost in six games in the first round to the Philadelphia 76ers, for context, and they’re a team with promising young pieces as well.

We touched on the first Bulls meeting of the season as well, and those Central Division foes could very well be on the rise in the East, too. Perhaps that could eventually be a game that’s a national TV one down the road, too.

And lastly, as the report above stated, Cleveland will face LeBron James and the Lakers on TNT in early December, which will have its own set of storylines. Given recent reports/rumors, and the obvious connection, the James potential return conversation will be there in that one, clearly.

The gist is, though, based on the report above from Fedor stating that the Cavs will have a “decent” amount of games in which they won’t just be on regional broadcasts via Bally Sports/NBC Sports and NBA League Pass, and will have more national exposure.

For what appears to be an ascending team, that’s exciting for us Cavaliers fans, and performing when the lights are brightest is going to be huge for the Wine and Gold, and guys such as Garland and Mobley. The Cavs only had two nationally televised regular season games last year, with mixed results at the Golden State Warriors in an L and in a win versus Toronto.

This next go-round, let’s hope Cleveland gets used to those types of games with larger draw in-season in 2022-23, and that those can help in propelling the team to the postseason for the first time since 2017-18.