Cavs' schedule features nine national TV games; home opener set for Oct. 23

A marquee matchup between NBA Rookie of the Year Scottie Barnes of the Toronto Raptors and runner-up Evan Mobley will tip off the Cavaliers' 2022-23 season highlighted by nine national television games.

The Cavs will visit Toronto for their season opener on Oct. 19 and play Oct. 22 at Chicago before the home opener Oct. 23 against the Washington Wizards.

Miffed by their lack of national television appearances last season, the league and its broadcast partners gave the Cavs a sign of growing respect.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will visit Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Dec. 6, a 7:30 p.m. game that will be one of two televised by TNT.

The other is a 7:30 p.m. Feb. 2 home game against the Memphis Grizzlies that will feature a matchup of All-Star point guards, the Cavs' Darius Garland and the Grizzlies' Ja Morant. Morant was voted the league's Most Improved Player last season, and Garland finished third. That game will also be carried by ESPN Radio.

Three games are slated for ESPN — Feb. 10 at New Orleans, March 1 at Boston and March 15 vs. Philadelphia. NBA TV will carry four more — Nov. 7 at the Los Angeles Clippers, Dec. 26 vs. Brooklyn, March 10 at Miami and March 21 at Brooklyn.

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The Cavs do not play on Christmas, but host the New Orleans Pelicans for a 3 p.m. game on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 16. The Cavs will be at home on Easter, April 9 against the Charlotte Hornets, which will conclude the regular season.

The Cavs will host the defending champion Golden State Warriors at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 20.

Other details about the 2022-23 schedule:

• 12 sets of back-to-back games, four on the road

• A six-game homestand from Dec. 16-26, the longest home stretch since 2019-20

• The longest road trip will feature five games in nine days from Jan. 6-14. A five-game, eight-day trip will run from Nov. 4-11

• Games on Thanksgiving eve (Nov. 23 vs. Portland) and New Years Eve (Dec. 31 at Chicago)

• 23 home weekend dates (eight on Friday, five on Saturday, nine on Sunday)

Led by coach J.B. Bickerstaff, the Cavs finished 44-38 last season, with their 22-game improvement the second best in franchise history.

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Relying on a big three of Mobley and two All-Stars, center Jarrett Allen and Garland, the Cavs fell short of their playoff goal after Allen fractured his left middle finger on March 6 and missed 19 games. The Cavs were eliminated with losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.

But their rebuild appears on track as they locked up their cornerstones. Garland signed a five-year, $193 million rookie max contract extension in July that could be worth up to $231 million, the largest deal in franchise history. Allen received a five-year, $100 million deal in August 2021.

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Backup point guard was their biggest issue after Ricky Rubio suffered a torn ACL on Dec. 28 and was later traded to the Indiana Pacers for guard Caris LeVert.

In free agency, the Cavs brought back Rubio and signed point guard Raul Neto, along with center Robin Lopez. In the NBA Draft on June 23, guard Ochai Agbaji, who led Kansas to the 2022 NCAA championship, was selected with the 14th overall pick and Mobley's brother, Isaiah, a power forward from USC, was taken 49th. Draftees Khalifa Diop, a center, and Luke Travers, a forward, will play overseas.

LeVert is expected to provide scoring punch after he was limited to 19 games (10 starts) with the Cavs due to injury. Cavs guard Collin Sexton remains a restricted free agent and the eighth overall pick in 2018 could play out the final year of his rookie contract on a $7.2 million qualifying offer.

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs gain respect with nine national TV games; open Oct. 19