The Cavaliers will have two showcase games against the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The NBA did not schedule Christmas Day games for either of the top teams in the Eastern and Western Conferences. They aren’t completely making up for that mistake, but they’re making sure that those two teams' matchups will be nationally televised.
The Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Oklahoma City Thunder on national TV twice just over a week apart at the beginning of January. The January 8 game in Cleveland will be on ESPN. The game on the 16th in Oklahoma City will be on TNT and the start time has been moved to 7:30 ET.
The Cavs and Thunder mirror each other in a few ways. They’re led by an All-NBA guard, are young teams winning with depth, and both have phenomenal defense. Additionally, neither team has completely proven that their regular-season success carries over to the playoffs.
The Thunder won both matchups last season. They narrowly defeated the Cavs in Cleveland with a 108-105 victory. Their matchup in Oklahoma City was less competitive than the final score of 128-120 would indicate as the Cavs struggled to defend the Thunder in space.
The Cavs are currently 5-0 against the Western Conference but haven’t played a team that’s currently in the top four of the conference yet this season. Their first game against a team like that will be January 3 when they take on the Dallas Mavericks on the road.
These games against Oklahoma City should be fun. It will be a good test for both and is the type of matchup that the NBA should be highlighting instead of continuing to promote teams just because of their market size or the aging stars they have. This is a step in the right direction for the league.
