2026-27 · Regular Season · Final

Washington Wizards at Cleveland Cavaliers

Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · tip-off 7:00 PM ET

WAS 2–2@CLE 2–1 records going into the game NBA.com recap ↗

Each team's share of the floor is its pregame win probability. The line starts at midcourt and moves to the split.

Team	Projected	Final	Difference
WAS Washington Wizards	112	111	−1
CLE Cleveland Cavaliers (home)	121	121	±0

Forecast: Cleveland Cavaliers to win, 74% win probability, projected margin 9.

Inside the Forecast

How the inputs are built

What the model received

Input	WAS	CLE
Elo ratingMargin-of-victory Elo; 1500 is average.	1297	1571
Elo gap, home minus road, incl. home court	+344
Season scoring marginPoints per game, blended with last season early in the year.	−9.6	+2.3
Games played this season	4	3
Offensive rating, last 10Points scored per 100 possessions.	110.8	107.2
Defensive rating, last 10Points allowed per 100 possessions; lower is better.	120.5	114.2
Combined pace, last 10Possessions per game, both teams.	101.2
Rotation points missingPoints per game of rotation players listed Out or Doubtful.	7.3	0.0
Rest days	2	2
Second night of a back-to-back	No	No

This forecast can't be broken down exactly: the model version that made this forecast is not available. Explanations are shown only when the model that made a forecast can be rebuilt and reproduces it. How explanations are checked

Built from the box scores

How the breakdowns work

Where each input came from. Open a row to see the games and box-score stats behind it. A breakdown is shown only when rebuilding it from the stored stats gives exactly the number the model received.

Elo ratingWAS1297CLE1571

Updated after every game from the final score only: wins, losses and margin. Each season starts by keeping 75% of last season's distance from the 1500 average.

WAS1297

Ended last season at 1206 → started this one at 1280
This season's 4 games: +17.3

WMIL128–116+13.1
LTOR102–112−4.6
W@CHI124–120+10.4
L@CHA103–110−1.6

CLE1571

Ended last season at 1598 → started this one at 1574
This season's 3 games: −2.3

L@PHI106–114−7.9
WBKN125–121+1.3
WMIN127–125+4.3

Season scoring marginWAS−9.6CLE+2.3

Points scored minus points allowed per game this season, mixed with last season's margin until 20 games are played.

WAS−9.6

Scores 114.2, allows 114.5 over 4 games: −0.3 a game.

20% this season (−0.3) + 80% last season (−12.0) = −9.6

CLE+2.3

Scores 119.3, allows 120.0 over 3 games: −0.7 a game.

15% this season (−0.7) + 85% last season (+2.8) = +2.3

Offensive rating, last 10WAS110.8CLE107.2

Points scored per 100 possessions. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2025-26: 114.6).

WAS110.8scored, −3.8 vs league

Factor	WAS	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	53.3%	54.5%	−1.8
Turnovers (TOV%)	13.1%	12.2%	−1.2
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	19.5%	26.1%	−2.9
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.222	0.210	+0.3
Everything else			+1.9

CLE107.2scored, −7.4 vs league

Factor	CLE	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	52.0%	54.5%	−3.8
Turnovers (TOV%)	14.8%	12.2%	−3.7
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	25.8%	26.1%	−0.1
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.261	0.210	+1.5
Everything else			−1.2

Defensive rating, last 10WAS120.5CLE114.2

Points allowed per 100 possessions, built from what opponents did in those games. Bars point right when the defense held opponents below average. Split into the four factors: right of center helps the team, left hurts, in points per 100 possessions compared with the league average (2025-26: 114.6).

WAS120.5allowed, +5.9 vs league

Factor	Opponents	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	56.8%	54.5%	−3.4
Turnovers (TOV%)	12.3%	12.2%	+0.2
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	32.1%	26.1%	−2.7
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.228	0.210	−0.5
Everything else			+0.6

CLE114.2allowed, −0.4 vs league

Factor	Opponents	League	Pts
Shooting (eFG%)	54.3%	54.5%	+0.4
Turnovers (TOV%)	12.3%	12.2%	+0.1
Offensive rebounding (OREB%)	28.1%	26.1%	−0.9
Free throws (FTM per FGA)	0.203	0.210	+0.2
Everything else			+0.6

Pace, last 10average 101.2

Possessions per 48 minutes. The model uses the average of the two teams. Faster games mean more points for both sides, so pace mostly moves the projected total, not the margin.

WAS 103.7 and CLE 98.7 → average 101.2 (league 2025-26: 100.0)

Rotation points missingWAS7.3CLE0.0

Points per game of rotation players (two or more of the last 10 games this season, 15+ minutes) listed Out or Doubtful on the official injury report.

WAS7.3pts/g missing

Player	Pts	Min	Games
Justin Champagnie	7.2	18.3	4

Source: official injury report, 2026-10-28 17:30 ET. 8 rotation players.

CLE0.0pts/g missing

Every rotation player was available.

Source: official injury report, 2026-10-28 17:30 ET. 8 rotation players.

RestWAS2 daysCLE2 days

Days since the team's previous game, capped at 5. One day means the second night of a back-to-back.

WAS2days

Last played Oct 26 against CHA.

CLE2days

Last played Oct 26 against MIN.

The last 10 games behind these numbers, box-score totals

WAS

Date	Opp	Score	FG	3P	FT	TOV	OREB	Off	Def	Pace
Oct 26	@CHA	103–110	41-85	9-28	12-15	14	10	108.4	114.6	95.5
Oct 24	@CHI	124–120	45-94	10-33	24-28	13	11	118.1	113.2	105.5
Oct 23	TOR	102–112	30-79	12-37	30-35	20	6	95.3	104.7	107.0
Oct 21	MIL	128–116	45-86	6-28	32-41	11	12	123.1	112.6	103.5
Apr 12	@CLE	117–130	42-90	18-41	15-19	12	5	117.0	128.7	100.5
Apr 10	MIA	117–140	46-92	14-31	11-14	13	4	113.6	135.9	103.0
Apr 9	CHI	108–119	38-96	10-38	22-27	17	10	100.9	111.2	107.0
Apr 7	CHI	98–129	37-86	11-38	13-21	21	3	89.9	119.4	108.5
Apr 5	@BKN	115–121	44-79	9-25	18-28	20	4	116.2	122.2	99.0
Apr 4	@MIA	136–152	50-106	17-40	19-24	9	13	125.9	142.1	107.5

CLE

Date	Opp	Score	FG	3P	FT	TOV	OREB	Off	Def	Pace
Oct 26	MIN	127–125	46-102	18-45	17-23	12	13	112.4	112.6	101.4
Oct 24	BKN	125–121	40-79	16-38	29-38	23	9	116.8	113.1	107.0
Oct 22	@PHI	106–114	39-87	7-29	21-28	21	10	97.2	103.6	109.5
May 25	NYK	93–130	32-77	11-40	18-22	22	6	91.2	127.5	102.0
May 23	NYK	108–121	42-84	12-41	12-19	17	9	110.2	124.7	97.5
May 21	@NYK	93–109	31-80	9-35	22-32	8	13	104.5	122.5	89.0
May 19	@NYK	104–115	36-90	16-50	16-23	19	11	96.3	105.5	98.3
May 17	@DET	125–94	43-85	11-34	28-44	11	14	125.0	94.0	100.0
May 15	DET	94–115	30-77	12-35	22-30	20	16	100.0	122.3	94.0
May 13	@DET	117–113	36-80	14-35	31-38	16	13	118.2	116.5	88.8

Off and Def are points scored and allowed per 100 possessions in each game; their averages are the 10-game ratings above. OREB is missing (–) where the source data didn't record it.

The result against the forecast

2026-27 surprise games

74%

pregame chance the forecast gave CLE, the winner

CLE was the forecast favorite

1 pts

margin miss

forecast +9, actual +10 for CLE

117th

most surprising result of 2026-27

of 146 graded games so far

133rd

largest margin miss of 2026-27

outcome surprise 0.30 nats

Surprise is measured against this model's forecast, not against what other observers expected. Outcome surprise is −ln(winner's pregame probability): 0.69 for a coin flip, 2.3 for a 10% winner.

Team box score

What happened in the game. These numbers are not used by the forecast, and they are not offered as the reason it missed.

Team stat	WAS	CLE
Final score	111	121
Field goals	44–83 · 53.0%	43–91 · 47.3%
Three-pointers	8–32 · 25.0%	14–38 · 36.8%
Free throws	15–17 · 88.2%	21–22 · 95.5%
Rebounds	27	47
Assists	31	26
Turnovers	10	13
Steals	7	7
Blocks	6	4

How the model does with these teams over time: Washington Wizards · Cleveland Cavaliers

More about this game

Where the forecast differed from the result

Measure	Forecast	Actual	Actual − forecast
Home margin (CLE)	+9	+10	+1
Total points	233	232	−1
WAS points	112	111	−1
CLE points	121	121	±0

Recent form before this game