The Cleveland Cavaliers have announced their schedule for the upcoming season’s NBA Cup tournament. They’ll play four group games against Toronto, Washington, Indiana and Atlanta.
Cleveland will play two games at home and two on the road. It all starts on Halloween, when the Cavs host the Toronto Raptors for their first game of the group stage. We’ve learned that the margin for error is essentially zero, with most teams needing a flawless record to advance to the knockout
rounds.
The Cavs haven’t made it out of the group phase yet. They failed to place last season, even after they began the year with a 17-3 record. Two of those losses were in Cup games, losing to Boston and Atlanta.
They won’t have to worry about the Celtics this year. Not only are the Celtics in a different group — but Boston has undergone some serious roster changes since last season. The biggest threat in Cleveland’s group this year will be the Hawks.
Atlanta torched the Cavs in consecutive games last year, so it’s fitting they’ll be the final team on their cup schedule. If the Cavs take care of business against Toronto, Washington and Indiana, then the Hawks will be their final hurdle.
Advancing to the knockout round — or even winning the Cup — is not that important. We’ve seen that winning this tournament does not carry over to success in the playoffs. Can you even remember who won it in the previous two years? (It was the Milwaukee Bucks last year and the Los Angeles Lakers before them.)
Still, this is a Cavs team that is hungry to win anything outside of a regular-season setting. Winning the Cup would boost morale, if nothing else.
