INDEPENDENCE — This regular season for the Cavaliers is primarily about preparing for a playoff run, remaining healthy at the right time and, in a best-case scenario, earning the No. 1 seed in the East.

They are still a few steps behind even being able to begin some of those processes .

The Cavs open the regular season Oct. 22 in New York to face the Knicks in what very well could be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. The Cavaliers and Knicks are, pretty heavily, the two favored teams in the East after key injuries around the conference in last year's playoffs.

Coach Kenny Atkinson already sees it as about a 15-game process to really find out where a team stands.

For the Cavs, that won't even really begin until All-Star guard Darius Garland (toe) and Max Strus (foot

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