Cavs open season at home against J.B. Bickerstaff-coached Pistons; Lakers next – News-Herald

Clean up your Halloween costumes and get them ready to wear; LeBron James, Bronny James and the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers will make their only visit to Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in 2024-25 on Oct. 30 in the Cavaliers’ second home game of the season.

On August 15, the NBA released the regular season schedules for all 30 NBA teams. The Cavaliers open on October 23 in Toronto and will play their home opener at 7:30 p.m. on October 25 against the Detroit Pistons. That game will have some spice because the Pistons are coached by J.B. Bickerstaff, who was fired by the Cavs at the end of last season. The Cavs will face the Washington Wizards on the road one night later.

Based on the final 2024 standings, it’s a way for the Cavs to ease into the arduous 82-game season under new coach Kenny Atkinson. None of their first three opponents made the playoffs. The Cavs finished fourth in the Eastern Conference last year with a 48-34 record and were eliminated by the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Cavaliers will be on national television 16 times: four road games on TNT (Nov. 19 at Boston, Jan. 14 at Indiana, Feb. 25 at Orlando and April 10 at Indiana). They will be on ESPN four times: (Nov. 1 vs. Orlando, Feb. 21 vs. the Knicks, Feb. 28 at Boston and March 5 vs. Miami). They will be on NBA TV eight times: Nov. 4 vs. Milwaukee, Nov. 9 vs. Brooklyn, Nov. 29 at Atlanta, Dec. 5 vs. Denver, Dec. 20 vs. Milwaukee, Jan. 27 vs. Detroit, March 2 vs. Portland and April 11 vs. the Knicks.

The schedule includes four holiday games: they face the Bulls in Chicago on Veterans Day (Nov. 11), host the Hawks on Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 27), face the Lakers in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve and host the Phoenix Suns on Martin Luther King Day (Jan. 20).

The Cavs have 16 consecutive games under their belt. March will be their busiest month with 16 games.

There will be just one Saturday home game after the calendar flips to 2025. They host the Minnesota Timberwolves on Jan. 18. Their only other Saturday game in 2025 will be a week later when they visit the Houston Rockets.

Originally published: August 15, 2024 at 6:56 p.m.