Cavaliers open preseason schedule on Oct. 5; Oct. 10 will be first at home

As they prepare to try to improve on a 44-38 record in 2021-22, the Cavaliers will open the preseason on Oct. 5 at Philadelphia, the team announced Wednesday.

That will be followed by home games against the 76ers (Oct. 10) and the Atlanta Hawks (Oct. 12), and a road game at the Orlando Magic (Oct. 14).

All four will have a 7 p.m. start. The Cavs' regular-season schedule will be announced at a later date.

Last season, coach J.B. Bickerstaff’s Cavs made a 22-game improvement in their win total, the second-largest jump in the history of the franchise. They fell short of their goal of making the playoffs, eliminated in the play-in tournament with losses to the Brooklyn Nets and Hawks.

But the Cavs continued to make strides during their post-LeBron James rebuild. They identified their core group in point guard Darius Garland,  center Jarrett Allen and center/forward Evan Mobley. Garland and Allen were first-time All-Stars and Mobley was runner-up for NBA Rookie of the Year.

In July, Garland signed a five-year, $193 million rookie max contract extension that could be worth up to $231 million, the largest deal in franchise history.

In free agency, the Cavs brought back point guard Ricky Rubio, coming off a torn ACL, and signed point guard Raul Neto and center Robin Lopez. Guard Ochai Agbaji, who led Kansas to the 2022 NCAA championship, was selected with the 14th overall pick and Mobley's brother Isaiah, a power forward from USC, was taken 49th.