How far will the Cleveland Cavaliers go during the 2024-25 NBA preseason? What will the Cavs showcase before what could be a defining year for the potential Eastern Conference contender?
Cleveland went 1-3 during last year’s preseason run. Its three closely contested losses were only separated by nine points and by as few as one. Forwards Isaac Okoro and Emoni Bates combined for 29 points in the Cavs’ razor-thin loss to the Atlanta Hawks in their first matchup, hitting four of their nine 3-point shots with comfortable attempts from the wings and the right corner. Their lone win came against Maccabi Ra’anana of the Israeli National League, where seven Cavs scored in double figures, and Cleveland as a whole finished with a 50/40/90 shooting split. The team would finish last season with the fourth-place spot in the Eastern Conference and a trip to the East’s semifinals.
The Cavaliers are slated to take on three Central Division opponents during this year’s preseason run. Cleveland will have plenty to prove and improve going into this year’s preseason after hiring head coach Kenny Atkinson last June. Atkinson, who was called a “modern” and “innovative” head coach by Cavs executive Koby Altman during the former Golden State Warriors assistant’s introductory press conference, will look to further push the Cavaliers in their third year with their playoff-caliber big four. Cleveland will be running it back with plenty of familiar faces, a point brought up to guard Darius Garland during Monday’s Cavs’ media day.
“Everybody’s bought in,” Garland said. “Everybody wants to be here. The people up top really believe in this group. Everybody in the locker room believes in everybody as well. When we put on that jersey, we know that we’re going to have one another’s back. We’re going to go out there and try to win a game.
“That’s all we’re about. We’re going to compete at the highest level, and we’re going to try to do our best.”
Who will the Cavaliers be facing off against during their 2024-25 preseason schedule?
Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls will face the Cavs in Cleveland on Oct. 8 and in Chicago on Oct. 18.
They selected G League Ignite forward and Chicago native Matas Buzelis with the 11th pick in the NBA draft. Buzelis, a former five-star prospect in the class of 2023, played in five games and averaged 16.4 points per contest during the NBA Summer League. Chicago finished last year’s regular season with the 19th-highest offensive rating and 22nd in defensive rating, a stark difference from their 24th and fifth-place finishes the season before, respectively.
The Bulls, who finished fourth in the Central Division last season, finished their last preseason campaign with a record of 1-4. They split two games with the Denver Nuggets and fell to the Milwaukee Bucks, Toronto Raptors, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Chicago-born guard Ayo Dosunmu proved to be a bright spot for the Bulls in a Denver win. He led the squad with seven assists as he found options from off-ball cuts and open perimeter shooters in the halfcourt.
Guard Heavy
The Cavaliers will have to match up against a handful of Bulls backcourt options, including Dosunmu and a former All-Star guard in Zach LaVine. The Bulls acquired guard Josh Giddey from the Oklahoma City Thunder in June, adding to a guard group that features two former first-round selections in Coby White and Dalen Terry.
“I think it could be a unique situation for us,” Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said in a Media Day interview. “It’s going to require a lot of sacrifice. Most backcourt players are most effective when the ball is in their hands. You can’t have the ball just in one player’s hands all the time. We’re going to have to play in a way where we’re trying to utilize and take advantage of each other’s skillsets.”
The Cavs will enter the preseason with Garland, former All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell, guard Craig Porter Jr., and guard Caris LeVert. They took Cal guard Jaylon Tyson with the 20th pick in this year’s draft, adding size, rebounding, and shot creation to a talented backcourt. Cleveland’s guards must play an important role in revealing the Cavs’ potential and out-pacing the Bulls’ backcourt during their two preseason matchups, starting with a home bout at 7 p.m. EDT on Oct. 8.
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers will take on the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse at 7 p.m. EDT on Oct. 10.
The Pacers ended last year’s preseason with an even 2-2 record. They prevailed over the Hawks and the Cavs at home after falling to the Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets on the road. Haliburton showed his impact on both ends of the floor in their win over Cleveland, ending the night with nine assists and four steals as he stopped drives in time to prevent scores off the break and picked off passes to the Cavs’ lead guards.
Indiana took the third spot in the Central Division with a record of 47-35, good enough for sixth place in the East and their first playoff appearance since 2020. They re-signed forwards Pascal Siakam and Obi Toppin in the offseason after trading for them the year before. The pair saw successful stints in the postseason as the Pacers lifted themselves to an Eastern Conference Finals appearance against the Boston Celtics. Siakam led the squad with 21.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per contest in 17 games played and started. Toppin added 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds in 20.2 minutes per game off the bench in 17 games of his own.
Potent Offense
The Pacers will look to keep their winning ways after rocketing up the Eastern Conference standings last season. Guard Tyrese Haliburton, who was the NBA’s assist champion last season after averaging a whopping 10.9 assists per game, said the team needed to adjust to a more physical NBA as he spoke to the media on Tuesday.
“You just have to adjust to how the game’s being officiated,” Haliburton said when asked how a more physical style of play can benefit the team. “Last year, we were the No. 1 team in paint touches and paint scoring, but we didn’t get to the free throw line a ton.
“We just have to harp on continuing to get downhill and stop thinking that it’s an officiating thing or something like that and more on us seeking out drawing fouls and things like that.”
Cleveland ended last season with 50.1 paint points and 23.6 paint touches per game during last year’s regular season. The figures put them in 16th and seventh place in the league, respectively, according to NBA.com. Led by Siakam and center Myles Turner, the Pacers led the league in paint scoring with 57.9 regular season paint points per game. The Cavs may need to look to their interior defensive duo of center Jarrett Allen and forward Evan Mobley to avoid fouls and deter a potent Pacers paint attack. Cleveland took the No. 4 spot in the regular season and led playoff squads in opponent points in the paint per game, making each team’s paint presence a potential deciding factor in the preseason contest on the Cavs’ home court.
(Photo/ Spencer German)
Detroit Pistons
The Cavs will travel to Little Caesars Arena to play against the Pistons on Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. EDT.
Detroit went 2-1 in close matchups with the Thunder and the Phoenix Suns before capping off their preseason with a loss to the Dallas Mavericks last year. Then-rookie forward Ausar Thompson, an Overtime Elite product and a top-5 selection in 2023, led the Pistons in points and rebounds during a 2-point road win over OKC. He hit five of his eight tries from the field as he drove inside and splashed open shots from the perimeter.
Familiar Face in Division
The Pistons finished last in the division with a record of 14-68. They selected forward Ron Holland II with the No. 5 pick in this year’s draft, adding to a guard group that features former Purdue standout Jaden Ivey, the former No. 1 selection in Cade Cunningham, and an NBA veteran of more than a decade in Tim Hardaway Jr. Detroit hired former Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff to take up their lead coaching duties in late June, making him the team’s third head coach in as many seasons. Bickerstaff coached in nearly 330 regular season games with the Cavaliers. The team went from 22-50 during his first full season as Cleveland’s head coach to two straight playoff appearances and a combined regular season record of 170-159.
Season Outlook
Bickerstaff said the focus of the preseason would be building a foundation for the team as he spoke to the media on Monday.
“We’re going to start there,” Bickerstaff said. “We’re not going to skip any steps. That’s the mindset that our coaching staff has. This preseason is the foundation of what we’re going to do here today, moving on into the future. We have to make sure that foundation is strong so we can sustain that success when we get there.”
Cleveland must lay a strong foundation of its own with a new coaching staff during the preseason and set the tone in what could be an incredibly competitive Eastern Conference.
The New York Knicks added forward Mikal Bridges and center Karl-Anthony Towns through notable offseason trades. The Philadelphia 76ers added forward Paul George through a massive offseason signing, adding more firepower to a Sixers squad with center Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey. It may take setting the tone early and adjusting quickly to new systems to taking their next giant leap, a Conference Finals appearance for the first time since the final year of Cleveland’s four-year NBA Finals battle with the Warriors in 2018.
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