Game Day Report: Cavs Vs. Wizards

The Wine and Gold tipoff the home portion of their schedule tonight

Author:
Jon Rudder
Oct 23, 2022 11:28 AM EDT

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The Cleveland Cavaliers open the home portion of their schedule with their first of 11 back-to-backs this season on Sunday night. Tonight's opponent, the Washington Wizards, comes to town after taking down the Chicago Bulls on Friday night 102-100.

Washington arrives at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse with a 2-0 record while the Cavs return to their home floor 1-1.Over the past 20 seasons, the Wizards have started 2-0 only six times and Washington is out to prove that this season isn't like many of the previous two decades.

The team has a revamped roster, a healthy Bradley Beal and a coach in Wes Unseld Jr, who was a popular choice to come in and fix things last year. The results just didn't add up.

The Wizards are doing and saying all of the right things this year, particularly talking about the chemistry they have.

Sound familiar? Sunday night should be a fun opener at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Can Donovan Continue To Dominate?

Donovan Mitchell became the first Cavs player in franchise history to open up a season with back-to-back 30-point games. Mitchell dropped 31 points on opening night against the Raptors and followed it up with a 32-point performance on Saturday night against the Bulls. He added nine rebounds and eight assists.

Mitchell has said it will take some time to get adjusted to playing with his new teammates, but the early returns are that he's an instant fit. After being acquired in a trade with the Jazz over the summer, Mitchell has said at times it still hasn't sunk in that he's playing in Cleveland but it will all hit home when he plays his first regular season game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

The New York native grew up a Cavalier fan and sported a LeBron James jersey in his youth. In his introductory press conference Mitchell said he imitated Cavs' hype man Ahmad Crump and his signature "Clevelaaaand Cavalieeeers!" introduction.

Crump said he will have a little extra juice for Donovan's introduction Sunday night.

Expect Mitchell to have an extra gear on Sunday, too.

Bench Buddies

The Cavs bench has been dominant in the first two games and could have a distinct advantage over Washington on Sunday night. Outside of Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma, there isn't much depth to the Wizards lineup.

Enter the Cavs: Who's reserves scored 56 points in Saturday night's win against the Bulls. Six guys off the bench scored at least a point and three recorded double figures.

Cedi Osman and Kevin Love each had 15 points. Love canned all five 3-pointers he took and Osman has been brilliant in two games after scoring 17 points on opening night.

Even Robin Lopez, who made his Cavalier debut scored 12 points off the bench for the Cavs. Bench points have been critical for the Cavs this season and you can read more about how they've taken over games from Tommy Wild here and on Osman's emergence as the Cavs main threat off the bench here.

Darius Garland Still Battling Eye Issue

Darius Garland was back in Cleveland on Saturday night watching the Cavs beatdown of the Bulls from home.

He jokingly said he was watching with one eye after suffering a left-eye laceration on opening night against the Raptors. Head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said Garland's eye was swollen shut a few days ago but the team announced there was no structural damage.

The offense will be centered around Donovan Mitchell in Garland's absence. Isaac Okoro got the start at the other guard position Saturday night while Cedi Osman and Caris LeVert also helped alleviate the scoring burden.

The sooner the Cavs get Garland back the better, but with a couple of days off before they host the Magic on Wednesday it may be wise to give DG as much rest as possible early in the season.