Cup of Cavs: The five worst games on the Cavaliers schedule
Cavs news and links for Monday, August 19.
Let’s have a good start to the week. Here’s your Cleveland Cavaliers news and links of the day.
The first sip
The schedule came out last Thursday. Tony took a look at five of the best games on the schedule. Naturally, that means someone needs to look at some of the worst games the schedule makers gave us.
Cavs at Toronto Raptors, Oct. 23
Tony had this as one of the games to look forward to. I would strongly disagree.
The Cavaliers have struggled against the Raptors since the LeBronto Era ended. Cleveland is 8-13 against Toronto since. This includes being 2-9 north of the border.
The Cavs have also suffered more than their fair share of injuries against the Raptors including Darius Garland (eye) on opening night at the start of the 2022-23 season and Jarrett Allen (finger) in March 2022.
The last thing you want to do is open your season with bad vibes.
Cavs vs. New Orleans Pelicans, Nov. 20
Back-to-backs are always tough. That’s especially true when the first leg is a road game against the defending champions you lost to in the playoffs. The matchup against the Boston Celtics is also their most important group-stage game in the NBA Cup and is nationally televised.
The following night against the Pelicans could be a letdown no matter what happens against Boston.
Cavs at Dallas Mavericks, Jan. 3
Luka Dončić seems to average one million points per game against the Cavs (somehow, it’s only 30.7). He’s always a handful. Taking on the Cavaliers on the last leg of a four-game road trip that sees them go against the Denver Nuggets, Golden State Warriors, and Los Angeles Lakers probably won’t be an exception.
The Cavs won both games against the Mavs last season with two improbable victories. That could happen again. But it’s more likely that this team could enter the game worn out from a tough road stretch.
Cavs at Detroit, Feb. 5
You know J.B. Bickerstaff will want his Pistons to steal a win or two against his former team. Detroit’s best chance of doing so will be this night. The Cavs play the Celtics at home the night before and will be quickly heading out to go to Michigan.
At least the schedule makers allowed the Cavs to play the Celtics on the front end of their back-to-backs.
Cavs at Sacramento Kings, March 19
The annual MAC tournament road trip is always difficult. The toughest game on that stretch will be playing the Kings on the second night of a back-to-back.
Sacramento is a good team no matter when you play them. But they’re maybe the last team you want to play when you’ve had a game in a different city the night before due to their frenetic pace.
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Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images
Random Cavalier of the Day - Luther Rackley
Rackley was a part of the inaugural Cavalier team that won only 15 games. He played 74 games as the backup center averaging 7.6 points per contest. Rackley started the next season with the team but was traded away in November for draft picks. He played five seasons combined in the ABA and NBA.
Rackley spent his post-playing career as a real estate broker, actor, and teacher. He died in 2017 at the age of 71.