Two Eastern Conference playoff hopefuls do battle on Wednesday night as the Cleveland Cavaliers travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets. The Cavs finished last season at 51-31 and earned the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs before being upended by the Knicks in the first round. The Nets were swept by the Sixers in four games after earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. The opening tap on Wednesday night is scheduled for 7:30 PM EST.
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The Cleveland Cavaliers improved from 44 wins to 51 wins last season with the addition of Donovan Mitchell in a big trade with the Utah Jazz prior to the 2022-23 season. The Cavs didn't make any moves of that level this offseason but did make a pretty important acquisition by bringing in former Miami Heat forward Max Strus in a trade. Strus will be asked to improve the corner 3-point shooting for the Cavs this season after the team was exposed late last year once the ball was out of the hands of either Mitchell or point guard Darius Garland. Garland and Mitchell combined to average nearly 50 points per game for the Cavs last year and seven of the team's 11.5 three-point field goals per game. Strus' ability to stretch the floor should give more space for Garland and Mitchell to operate. Inside the Cavs will return Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley in the frontcourt with both capable of providing rebounding and rim protection. Off the bench, the Cavs added free-agent Georges Niang from the 76ers. Niang is another player who can help the Cavs spread the floor with his ability to shoot from long-range.
“I feel like we're right there,” Mitchell said when speaking to the additions Boston and Milwaukee made. “At the end of the day, we have high hopes. We have high goals and a high ceiling for us. It starts with now, starts tomorrow, and we can't really focus on what's going on around us.”
The Cavs finished the preseason at just 1-3 but they, like most contenders, were more concerned with staying healthy than winning games in the preseason. Still, the Cavs do come into the season opener a bit banged up with point guard Garland and center Allen both a bit banged up by the end of preseason. Both appear ready to go for the opener in Brooklyn. The Cavs struggled on the road last season with a record of just 20-21 away from Cleveland. This will be a good chance to gauge how they'll be on the road this season against a talented but beatable Nets team. Cleveland had a couple of major issues to address in the offseason: perimeter shooting and frontcourt depth. They answered the first need by picking up Strus and Niang, both from playoff-tested teams. The frontcourt still looks a bit thin behind Allen and Mobley.
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