CLEVELAND — Editor's note: the video in the player above is from a previous story.
Having emerged as one of the NBA's most surprising -- and exciting -- young teams, the Cleveland Cavaliers are returning to primetime.
On Tuesday, the Cavs announced that their matchup against the Toronto Raptors at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Sunday, March 6, will now be nationally televised on ESPN, with the game's tip-off having been moved to 7:30 p.m. ET. Currently, the announcement marks Cleveland's first game that will be nationally televised this season, aside from games that have aired on NBA TV.
The announcement of the Cavs' upcoming nationally televised contest comes one day after Cleveland defeated the Brooklyn Nets 114-107 at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. At 27-18, the Cavs enter Wednesday's matchup with the top-seeded Chicago Bulls with the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference and just 1.5 games back of the conference's No. 1 seed.
Despite entering the season with an over-under win total of 27.5 games, Cleveland has emerged as arguably the NBA's most pleasant surprise this season. In center Jarrett Allen and point guard Darius Garland, the Cavs have two legitimate All-Star candidates, as well as the NBA Rookie of the Year frontrunner in big man Evan Mobley.
Despite guards Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio suffering season-ending injuries, Cleveland has remained on an upward trajectory and is currently in the midst of a five-game winning streak. Having already survived the NBA's toughest schedule, the Cavs appear poised to make their first playoff appearance since LeBron James' free agency departure in 2018.