5 Cavs games that jump out in first half of 2022-23 season

5 key Cavs games in 2022-23 first half – No. 3: Dec. 6 versus the Los Angeles Lakers

The third matchup fans should be looking forward to from the Cavs’ first half is, naturally, their Tuesday, Dec. 6 meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers at 7:30 PM.

Anytime LeBron comes back to Cleveland, it’s going to bring added juice to a Cavaliers regular season tilt. James and the Lakers are trying to wash the taste of last season for them away, and get back to being a contender in the Western Conference.

If James and Anthony Davis are healthy, this L.A. team can be a factor out West, but that’s a big if for elongated stretches of the season, with Davis, in particular.

As for the matchup itself, I would think that the Cavs should be the team with the upper hand coming in, however, that’s not what played out in the two meetings between the teams last season, as Los Angeles controlled things in the closing stretches.

Even still, with a Cavs team that should be clicking by that point, in my opinion, and after the experience of last season, Cleveland I believe should be well-versed in learning how to close out games.

We’ll have to see if L.A. could potentially shake things up by this matchup with their roster and Russell Westbrook; that’s well before the trade deadline, in fairness.

Generally speaking here, though, even with LeBron reportedly signing a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension on Wednesday, with a player option for 2024-25, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, him maybe finishing out with Cleveland could be a possibility seemingly. Either way, the show LeBron puts on as a visitor is well-documented, and this should be a fun matchup.

Hopefully the Cavs can finally come out as winners here. And I think this go-round, they should be in a nationally televised contest.