The Cleveland Cavaliers fell to the Philadelphia 76ers in LeBron’s home coronation 114-106 on Thursday night. This, despite leading the game 69-45 at halftime. And unfortunately for the team, they showed some of the same issues seen in their ECF defeats to the Knicks last season.

With game one out of 82 now in the books, it’s time to look at the biggest winners and losers. Let’s take a look, citing two of each.

Winner: Mario Hezonja

Though he ultimately finished 5-13 from the floor in 19 minutes of action, Mario Hezonja still had a positive net rating. He hit some impressive post-up shots in the second-half of the game, and had all the different aspects of his game on display. There were stretches where he was positively affecting the game for multiple possessions in a row.

Mario Hezonja waved off Donovan Mitchell and got the iso bucket to end the quarter.

Confidence at an all-time high.pic.twitter.com/HQsSYXWhAT https://t.co/rbjoCNNtzg

— Across The Cavs (@AcrossCavs) October 23, 2026

As the broadcast touched on, he’s a very different player from the one many NBA fans last saw take the court in the association six years ago. He’s bigger. He’s stronger. And he can now play on the interior, something that this team really needed.

Hezonja proved his usefulness right off the bat, and should be a major part of the gameplan in the coming games.

Loser: Kenny Atkinson

Kenny Atkinson got nothing but good PR in the offseason. He hung around Cleveland, where the fans seemingly loved running into him. He has said all the right things. Plus, he sunk the half-court shot to help get $10K donated to charity at the Wine & Gold Scrimmage just last weekend.

But on opening night, as the team’s lead started to unravel, he was very slow with his changes. Yes, it’s the first game of the year and sometimes perhaps you just want to let things play out. But, the timeouts have got to come earlier in the runs, and when the Sixers finally went in front, it still wasn’t called.

It’s the role of the Coach to know when he needs to get his guys in a huddle, and when to change the sub pattern, and as things fizzled, nothing went down. Atkinson is the guy the team is hoping takes them far again, but if he continues to make these kinds of mistakes at the helm, somebody could be coming for his position.

The loss was not a good one for this team. Not at all.

Winner: Meleek Thomas

You know it wasn’t a good day when a guy that did not play was one of the winners. The main reason the Cavs rookie guard Meleek Thomas came out a winner is because of the struggle. Craig Porter Jr. showed off some athleticism during his minutes, but that was it. Tyrese Proctor couldn’t get much going either.

Thomas was in competition with both of them in the offseason, into the preseason, for some minutes. A capable scorer and defensive playmaker, the Arkansas product could perhaps have made a difference. It was certainly a surprise he didn’t touch the floor, especially as things fizzled out.

With the team set to play a Nets team not quite on the Sixers level on Saturday, perhaps he’ll get to make his NBA debut. It can’t hurt to give him a chance, right?

Loser: Donovan Mitchell and James Harden

LeBron James’ first game with the Sixers was a success. All five members of the starting lineup impacted the game in the second half, which is exactly the vision they had. They clearly didn’t miss Dean Wade in the second half. And the other big loser from the game for the Cavs was their starting backcourt.

Donovan Mitchell signed a massive extension this offseason. He also said in an interview earlier this week that he wants to retire in Cleveland. He wants to see his #45 in the rafters someday. Well, when the game mattered most tonight, he didn’t show up. Whether it was missing key free throws, turning it over, or not guarding a little tighter, nothing went right at the end.

Sure, Mitchell was 11-19 from the floor and had 32 points and 10 rebounds. But he had five turnovers, and was a -6. As for his backcourt mate James Harden, it was even worse.

Harden shot 5-12, and didn’t find any rhythm until late. He had six turnovers to just five assists. Not ideal for the floor general. It was a tough one when his drive and foul-drawing take on Joel Embiid was challenged and overturned. But still. That doesn’t make up for the buckets he gave up on the defensive end. Or the fact that he couldn’t help the team change the pace as the meltdown was happening.

Harden was a -17 in 33 minutes of action. He could not stop Tyrese Maxey or Jaylen Brown.

In All

Peyton Watson may need some time to adapt. The team still struggles to consistently feed Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. And the same issues that plagued them in May, are still haunting them.

The Cavs, as mentioned, play the Nets on Saturday. Let’s see how they adapt.