Why history and stats favor the Cavs ahead of Wizards trip

Stats and history lessons show that the Cleveland Cavaliers have the upper hand ahead of Friday's battle with the Washington Wizards.

Feb 7, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) drives to the basket against Washington Wizards forward Kyshawn George (18) and guard Bilal Coulibaly (0) during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images | Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers have a lot going for them ahead of their NBA Cup road game against the Washington Wizards tonight (Friday).

The Cavs arrive in the nation’s capital with a wave of optimism, following two consecutive wins over the Atlanta Hawks and the Philadelphia 76ers. The latter victory was particularly inspiring, with Darius Garland's return and Donovan Mitchell's season-high 46 points, fueled by a young gamer’s trash talk pregame.

Tonight was also @spidadmitchell's 13th time with 40+ PTS and 5+ 3FG since joining the @cavs, which is now the MOST in franchise history.

Most Regular Season Games w/40+ PTS & 5+ 3FG by a Cavalier:
13 - DONOVAN MITCHELL
12 - LeBron James
8 - Kyrie Irving#LetEmKnow

— Cavs Notes (@CavsNotes) November 6, 2025

The positivity is heightened as they face a Washington side in a slumber, currently 1-7 and playing like they’re in a deep sleep. Nothing is working for them right now; however, it only takes one game to turn things around.

Historically, the Cavs have momentum, having won their last 12 encounters with the Wizards, dating back to December 30, 2021—the last time Washington defeated Cleveland.

That’s nearly four years of dominance, as the Cavaliers have averaged 118.6 points and have conceded an average of 101 points in those 12 consecutive victories, winning by a margin of 17.6 points.

The last time the two sides met, Donovan Mitchell had 33 points, Evan Mobley added 27, and Garland poured in 23 in a 134-124 win in Washington in February.

Moving forward nine months – to the day since their last meeting - Garland is back in the lineup, having made his season debut in Wednesday’s win over the Sixers. And while still getting back to match fitness, having had surgery on his toe in the offseason, he has no doubt injected an extra dose of adrenaline into the Cavs.

Nov 5, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) brings the ball up court in the fourth quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images

But as they get back to normality at a good time, with the team being bare to the bone for players in the opening seven games, Cleveland still boasted a winning record of 4-3.

Sure, the stats behind the four wins and three defeats haven’t blown the rest of the league away, but they’re still faring better than the Wizards.

The Cavs average 116.4 points and 26.6 assists per game, the latter ranking near the top ten in the league, whereas the points tally languishes in the bottom half, at 19th.

But there is a chance that those point averages will shoot up against a Wizards side with the worst defense in the NBA at this moment, conceding 128.1 points a contest.

 The only thing that stands out for Washington, unsurprisingly, is that they pull down 45.9 rebounds a game, compared to just 40 for Cleveland, which ranks in the bottom three. A definite stat that the Cavs need to work on.

And crashing the boards is undoubtedly an area that the Wizards will need to zero in on if they are to have a chance on home floor. They will aim to break a six-game losing run, with their last four defeats coming by 17 points or more. 

All it takes is one game, and the Cavs don’t want it to be them. Can 13 be a lucky number for once?