When will Cavaliers lose? Breaking down Cleveland's upcoming schedule as win streak reaches 15

The Cavaliers reached the second round of the playoffs in the spring but fired coach J. B. Bickerstaff because they believed they could find another gear. 

So far, that decision is paying off in a major way.

New coach Kenny Atkinson still hasn't lost a game with the Cavaliers, leading the team to a dominant 15-0 start. It's the longest unbeaten start since the Warriors' historic 24-0 run nine years ago, and it's happening without the championship expectations Golden State had at the time.

All win streaks come to an end at some point. When could Cleveland finally take its first loss of the season? Here's the team's outlook going forward.

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Cavaliers win streak

The Cavaliers have won 15 consecutive games to start the season, becoming the fourth team to start a season 15-0. If Cleveland can reach 16-0, it would join the 2015-16 Warriors as the only two teams to start a season with 16 consecutive wins.

Here are the four teams to start a season 15-0:

All three teams that started 15-0 went on to reach the NBA Finals, though only the 1993-94 Rockets won a championship. The Warriors, of course, set the single-season wins record with a 73-9 finish but came up a win short against none other than the Cavaliers in the Finals. 

The Cavaliers still have a long way to go to rank among the longest overall win streaks in NBA history. The 1971-72 Lakers hold that record at 33 games. However, just five more wins would make Cleveland the sixth team to win 20 consecutive games. 

Different seasons count toward the same winning streak in NBA record books — for example, the Warriors' 24-0 start was part of a 28-game win streak dating back to the previous season — but the Cavaliers lost their final regular season game in April. 

MORE: Revisiting Warriors' record-setting 2015-16 run

When will the Cavaliers lose?

There's enough parity in the NBA that it seems any team can lose on any night, at least in the regular season, but the Cavaliers have overmatched the NBA's lower-tier teams. Nine of Cleveland's 15 wins have been by a double-digit margin, including recent victories over the Bulls and Hornets.

The Cavaliers are going to lose at some point, and the odds could be that the Celtics will be the ones to give them that loss. Cleveland faces Boston twice in its next six games, including a tough matchup at TD Garden on Tuesday. A win over the Celtics, who the Cavaliers have their sights set on in the East this season, would be monumental and potentially leave Atkinson's team in a strong position to start 20-0.

After leaving Boston, the Cavaliers host the depleted Pelicans followed by the Raptors and Hawks. Cleveland then goes on the road for a second matchup with Atlanta before hosting the Celtics again on Dec. 1.

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The Celtics can end all of the 20-0 talk by taking care of business on Tuesday night in their own building, but it's tough to take anything for granted when the Cavaliers are playing with such confidence. 

It's early, but each of those games between the Cavaliers and Celtics could be meaningful in the race for the No. 1 seed come April. A win would give Cleveland a 4.5-game advantage over Boston atop the East, and at some point, a lead like that isn't insignificant. 

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Cavaliers schedule 2024-25

Here are the Cavaliers' next 10 games:

If Cleveland can get past the Celtics on the road, the path forward is pretty bright. The Cavaliers then host six of their next seven games, including three consecutive games against sub-.500 teams.

Should the Cavaliers go on what still would be a miraculous run and steal the record from the Warriors, win No. 24 would come on the road against the Hornets while win No. 25 would come in Miami.