The Cleveland Cavaliers have an advantage over the rest of the NBA heading into the 2025-26 NBA season.
The new NBA schedule was unveiled last week, as teams learned their fate ahead of the 2025-26 season.
The LA Lakers and Golden State Warriors will open proceedings for the new campaign. While Kevin Durant’s Rockets take on the OKC Thunder in the second big game.
The NBA schedule can often be a gamble for teams, going either way. The Philadelphia 76ers had terrible luck with the schedule.
Even though the LA Clippers and LA Lakers have an advantage, it’s only a temporary one. The team with the far bigger advantage are the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to a study conducted by HoopsHype, the Cleveland Cavaliers have the easiest NBA schedule heading into the 2025-26 NBA season.
The study uses a team’s monthly schedule, based on their rivals’ projected wins, to determine their ease of schedule (EOS).
With 100 being the average, an EOS above 100 indicates a difficult period, while an EOS below 100 indicates an easy period.
Out of all 30 teams, the Cavaliers are the team with the most months with an EOS below 100, with six. In fact, they only have one month projected to have an EOS above 100. You can find the readings below:
Month | Ease of Schedule |
October | 98.10 |
November | 99.00 |
December | 94.20 |
January | 104.70 |
February | 98.40 |
March | 94.30 |
April | 96.80 |
The Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets, and New Orleans Pelicans are tied for the most months over 100 in EOS next season with five each.
Month | Phoenix Suns | Charlotte Hornets | New Orleans Pelicans |
October | 87.90 | 84.20 | 112.10 |
November | 110.10 | 102.00 | 107.00 |
December | 104.50 | 104.40 | 101.70 |
January | 102.80 | 103.30 | 103.80 |
February | 109.10 | 101.30 | 88.10 |
March | 94.60 | 96.10 | 108.20 |
April | 107.80 | 105.80 | 93.60 |
Given the rosters these three teams have, them having the most difficult seasons is unsurprising. All three of these teams are expected to underperform in the upcoming campaign.
Of course, these projections are nothing more than estimates, and shouldn’t be taken as guarantees for how the season will play out.
But these projections can give fans an idea of what to expect heading into the 2025-26 NBA season.
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