Cavs in-season tournament: Where things stand for Cleveland

Out of all 30 teams playing in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament, the Cleveland Cavaliers are only part of a handful of squads that have completed one of the four required Group Stage matchups. Granted, that'll change when the Cavs host the Detroit Pistons at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and then head to the City of Brotherly Love to face the Philadelphia 76ers soon after.

That'll quickly rack things up for Cleveland in the In-Season Tournament, and by then, we'll have a clearer understanding of whether or not they're heading to Las Vegas to play for the NBA Cup and $500,000 per player. But, considering it's been nearly half a month since the Cavs made their In-Season Tournament debut, everything else around Cleveland has changed. The losing to the Indiana Pacers on November 3 set the Cavs back. But do they still have a shot to go the distance? Let's check in.

Eastern Conference Group A Standings (As of 11/17/2023)

1. Indiana Pacers, 2-0
2. Atlanta Hawks, 1-0
3. Philadelphia 76ers, 1-1
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 0-1
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-2

If the Cavs can defeat the Pistons at home, Detroit would be mathematically eliminated while Cleveland keeps their hopes alive. More importantly, the Sixers and Hawks play at the same time the Cavs and the Pistons do. So, if Cleveland wins and Philadelphia loses, the Cavs would have a strong hold on third place in Group A of the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, if Cleveland wins and Atlanta loses, the Cavs would be tied for third place with the Hawks, with things on standby until later in the week.

That's when the Group A leading Pacers face the Hawks in Atlanta, which will further decide where things stand for Cleveland. Especially when the Cavs are in Philadelphia to face the Sixers simultaneously, things will be red hot by the time things wrap up for all four teams on November 21.

That's a lot to digest so, in simpler terms, here's a breakdown of how things could go for Cleveland over the coming days:

1. Cleveland beats Detroit, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1
3. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
4. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

2. Cleveland beats Detroit, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1
3. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
4. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

3. Cleveland beats Detroit, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1
3. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
4. Philadelphia 76ers, 1-3
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

4. Cleveland beats Detroit, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
2. Cleveland Cavaliers, 2-1
3. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
4. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

5. Detroit beats Cleveland, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Atlanta Hawks, 3-0
2. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
3. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Philadelphia 76ers, 1-3

6. Detroit beats Cleveland, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
3. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
5. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2

7. Detroit beats Cleveland, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
3. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
5. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2

8. Detroit beats Cleveland, Cleveland beats Philadelphia, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
2. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
3. Philadephia 76ers, 2-2
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2

9. Detroit beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Atlanta Hawks, 3-0
2. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
3. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 0-3

10. Detroit beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
3. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
5. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2

11. Cleveland beats Detroit, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
3. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

12. Cleveland beats Detroit, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Philadelphia 76ers, 3-1
2. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
3. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 0-3

13. Cleveland beats Detroit, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
2. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
3. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
4. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
5. Detroit Pistons, 0-3

14. Detroit beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Atlanta beats Philadelphia, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 2-2
3. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 0-3

15. Detroit beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Atlanta beats Indiana:

1. Philadelphia 76ers, 3-1
2. Atlanta Hawks, 2-1
3. Indiana Pacers, 2-1
4. Detroit Pistons, 1-2
5. Cleveland Cavaliers, 0-3

16. Cleveland beats Detroit, Philadelphia beats Cleveland, Philadelphia beats Atlanta, Indiana beats Atlanta:

1. Indiana Pacers, 3-0
2. Philadelphia 76ers, 3-1
3. Cleveland Cavaliers, 1-2
4. Atlanta Hawks, 1-2
5. Detroit Pistons 0-3

This also can be a lot to digest, but the Cavs are still in the thick of making it to Las Vegas to play for the In-Season Tournament Championship. They also could be in the mix for an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, where they could face any team in the field when things switch to the tournament format.