A Look at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Second Half Schedule
Feb 16, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks while game MVP Eastern Conference Kyrie Irving guard (2) of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks after the 2014 NBA All-Star Game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The Cleveland Cavaliers are coming off a 4 game winning streak going into the All Star weekend where Dion Waiters and Kyrie Irving were dominate stars. The team sits 3 games back of the 8th seed in the East and only 6 games back of the 5th seed. For those hoping the team would tank they sit 10.5 games back of the worst record in the league and 4.5 back of the 3rd worst record. So now we look at the remaining schedule as the team looks to plow forward.
February
The Cavs have 7 games left this month. 4 are at home, 3 on the road.
Three of their games are against the 76ers, Magic and Jazz who own 3 of the 6 worst records in the league at this point.
The other 4 teams are currently in playoff positions, even with the Wizards owning a losing record. Two games against the currently 3rd seeded Raptors will be huge for the Cavaliers. The matchup with the Thunder will be a tough one to pull out.
Best Case Scenario: Beat the 3 bad teams. Split with the Raptors. Beat the Wizards. Lose to the Thunder: 5-2
Worst Case Scenario: Beat only 2 of the bad teams. Lose both to the Raptors as well as loses to the Wizards and Thunder: 2-5
March
The Cavs have 15 games in March. 7 are at home, 8 on the road.
Only 5 games are against teams with sub .500 records, including a pair against the Knicks and games against the Nets, Bobcats and Pistons who have losing records but all are currently higher in the standings. So while those teams are below .500 they all currently have better records then the Cavs.
The other 10 games are against teams with winning records. This includes games against all four of the Top 2 seeds in each conference: Heat, Pacers, Thunder and Spurs. Another game against Toronto could play a key role in the East. Western Conference foes the Clippers, Suns and Rockets will also make for a tough month of March.
Best Case Scenario: Beat the 5 under .500 teams. Take 3 or 4 of the remaining 10 games against top teams: 8-7
Worst Case Scenario: Win 2 of the 5 games. Lose 9 of the 10 games against top teams: 3-12
April
The Cavs close the season with 7 games in April. 4 are at home, 3 on the road.
None of their opponents currently have a winning record, tho the Hawks are only 1 game under .500. Games against teams currently above the Cavs in the standing include the Hawks, Bobcats, Nets and Pistons. The Cavs have one game with the woeful 9 win Bucks. Similar to the Cleveland Indians the Cavs’ late season schedule could propel them into the playoffs.
Best Case Scenario: Clean sweep: 7-0
Worst Case Scenario: Beating 3 of the 7 teams but having a losing record in the month of April: 3-4
Adding it Up
Taking the Best Case Scenarios that we presented the Cavaliers would end up with a record of: 40-42
Taking the Worst Case Scenarios that we presented the Cavaliers would end up with a record of: 28-54
The middle ground of those scenarios presented the Cavaliers would end up with a record of: 34-48
Looking at the schedule March will be a tough month. A few upsets could be huge before a finishing run against an easy April schedule. The best case scenario should be enough to get the Cavs into the playoffs. The worst case would give them a middle Lottery selection. The middle ground scenario probably would put them close to a playoff spot. What do you see when you look at their schedule?