What do the Cleveland Cavaliers need to work on after Milwaukee Bucks win?

The Cleveland Cavaliers got off to a winning start on their home floor against the Milwaukee Bucks – but it wasn’t by any means clinical.

Team basketball overcame superstardom in the end, as the Cavs edged over the line 118-113, over the Bucks and Giannis , who reeled in 40 points and pulled down 14 rebounds along with nine assists.

Donovan Mitchell went 9-for-20 from the floor on a difficult night, but still paced Cleveland with 24 points, 10 of those coming in a crucial fourth quarter when the Cavs needed it most, when the Bucks were building threatening amounts of momentum, and the game was slipping away from the Wine and Gold.

Leading 81-63 in the third quarter, and playing solid basketball throughout, the hosts looked good value for their lead, until Milwaukee suddenly burst into life to close the period on a 21-5 run, which rocked the Cavs.

Then, with 6:54 remaining, a dunk from Ryan Rollins knotted the game at 98-98. The worry was quickly dashed as Cleveland reeled off seven unanswered points. The Bucks kept the game interesting until Evan Mobley sealed matters from the foul line, finishing a career-best 12-for-12 from the stripe.

Mobley would end up with 23 points, Sam Merrill added 17, and De’Andre Hunter, returning from a minor knee problem, got 16.

GOODNIGHT, CLEVELAND. It was so good to be home.@RocketOTD | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/6cXGZ1SrdY
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) October 27, 2025

With Mitchell doing what he usually does, the focus will be on Mobley during the early stages of the season, until the team gets back to full fitness. For head coach Kenny Atkinson, it’s about finding the right balance.

“He's got to find that balance between being aggressive, making plays and making sure he's spreading the ball around,” Atkinson said.

“But I'll just say him and Donovan, well, I think both of them struggled overall. But Donovan made huge shots, and then Evan, obviously, the free throw line, 12-for-12. That was big time. 10-for-10 in the second half. Despite the struggles, they made the big plays.”

Oct 26, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Evan Mobley (4) drives to the basket against Milwaukee Bucks center Myles Turner (3) during the second half at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

But why did the game nearly get away from the Cavs?

Away from the human offensive firework that is Giannis, who was a question mark before the game with a toe injury, there were other factors.

Switching to a zone defense for the majority of the second half, particularly in the third quarter, slowed Cleveland’s offense down and allowed Milwaukee to get easy scores at the other end.

Eventually, in the deep end of the fourth, the Cavs figured it out, but to go that long is concerning. Thankfully, it’s game three of the regular season, so there is time to work on the loose ends, but if that trait carries on, the offensive sets will need to be adjusted.

“They did a good job with their zone,” Atkinson said about Milwaukee’s defensive switch. “I think we had five or six turnovers against the zone, and I'll take some of that. We should have been prepared better.

“I wasn't expecting that from them, but that kind of changed the rhythm of the game, got us, really slowed us down offensively. So, credit to them for switching up the coverage. And so we started turning it over, and then they started getting easy, easy ones down the other end.”

But the most important stat was the result. It’s in the books. However, there is work to be done ahead of the trip to Detroit to face the Pistons on Monday.