Cavs have chance to quiet outside noise that comes with meltdowns

October 24, 2026

The best thing about the NBA is that there’s always another game. And between now and mid-April, the Cavaliers will have 81 of them.

So, yes, the meltdown on opening night in Philadelphia will be a long-forgotten memory that means nothing by the time the playoffs roll around. This is assuming the Cavs make the playoffs. It’s also assuming they don’t keep blowing 29-point leads.

Chance No. 2 comes Saturday night, at home, against the Brooklyn Nets. (7:30 p.m., DAZN). The Cavs will be heavy favorites. They are reigning Eastern Conference finalists. The Nets are still trying to figure out what they are. They’re mostly a young team with two veteran scorers in Michael Porter Jr. and Julius Randle.

They can beat you if you’re lazy and don’t take care of the little things. After all, again, this is the NBA. But the Cavs think they’re contenders; the Nets think they might make the playoffs if others fail to live up to expectations. (Translation: The Nets aren’t going to the playoffs.)

But we don’t need to worry about all that in October. For the Cavs, nights like this are about putting on a show for the home crowd, finding some continuity, and keeping it together if/when Brooklyn goes on a run.

Donovan Mitchell scored 32 in the opener — but just two in the fourth. James Harden sort of looked the same as he did last season. That is to say, good on some trips down the floor, close to disastrous in others.

One thing the Cavs do need to do is not only get Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen involved, but keep them involved. That second part has been an issue on too many nights during the Mitchell-Mobley-Allen era.

We should see more from the role players here, too. They always seem to play better at home. So here’s looking at you, Jaylon Tyson, Sam Merrill and newcomer Peyton Watson.

You can’t call Game No. 2 a must-win. That’d be silly in a league with 82 games on the schedule. But if the Cavs want to quiet some of the noise that comes with a 29-point collapse, well, this would be a good place to start.