CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Cavs star Donovan Mitchell, entering his 10th NBA season opener tonight, says the excitement never changes.
Mitchell and the Cavs visit LeBron James and the 76ers in Philadelphia (7 p.m., ESPN).
The 7-time All-Star wants the Cavs to start faster this season, admitting Wednesday “we’ve got to ultimately take this year for real from the jump anyway. That’s just, you know, that’s just the mindset you have. You can’t just find a way to, oh, it’s April, it’s time to go. You’ve got to build those habits now, and then start from there.”
[Cleveland is tied with Denver and Minnesota](https://www.espn.com/nba/futures) for the 7th-best odds to win the championship, despite making the Eastern Conference finals a year ago.
The team’s biggest offseason addition is forward Peyton Watson.
Gone from last year’s Cavs are Max Strus, Dennis Schroder, Dean Wade and Keon Ellis.
_Copyright 2026 WOIO. All rights reserved._