🏀 No LeBron. No problem for Cavs.

Good morning, Cleveland! This is The 216 Scoop: Some people spend October at haunted houses. Others watch horror movies. We're considering a casual stroll through a cemetery. You know, normal fall activities 💀🪦👻

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John Petkovic & Jude Perez

The Guards are done. On to the Cavs, who open their regular season at 7 p.m. Thursday against the 76ers – featuring, yes, LeBron.

Cleveland missed out in the sweepstakes to sign him… but do they need him anyway?

The team enters the season with its core intact – largely because they refused to trade Evan Mobley for Jaylen Brown or Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Which means that, once again, the Cavs are expecting a big leap from him.

They’re also betting on off-season addition Peyton Watson to thrive on the wing.

While not as skilled as LeBron, he’s: a better fit, superior defender, more athletic and doesn’t need the ball in his hands.

Also, LeBron would make this a win-now season. Watson, 24, gives the Cavs bigger window.

Vegas win totals sit around 47.5 (below last year’s 52). A top-four seed and playoff run are both realistic.

KEYS TO THE SEASON:

Perimeter defense: The loss of Dean Wade will force Watson, Jaylon Tyson and Mobley to cover up for Donovan Mitchell and James Harden’s defensive shortcomings.  

Ball movement: The Cavs struggled to score when they were stagnant. Pounding the ball won’t help Watson or help Mobley improve.

The Bench: Depth is thin and they’ll need a third point guard. Candidates: Meleek Thomas, Craig Porter Jr., Tyrese Proctor.

Wild cards: EuroLeague star Mario Hezonja and Tyson will need to provide shooting and physicality.

It’s like The Planet of the Apes – except these simians are a friendly bunch.

On Thursday, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo will unveil the biggest project in its 144-year history.

Yes, it’s the much-anticipated Primate Forest that the orangutans are going bananas over.

For more than three decades, they lived under a glass dome in the old RainForest building.

They climbed, napped and watched the world through panes of glass, but never felt real grass under their fingers.

Some of them had never experienced it at all.

No longer.

Now, they’ll have space to swing on ropes, climb real trees, and stretch out in the shade.

Indoors, the Tropical Forest will still feature thunder, rainstorms and winding paths past otters, capybaras, clouded leopards, birds, and reptiles.

The original 63,000-square-foot RainForest has been renovated and expanded by more than 33,000 square feet.

The complex will stretch to about 140,000 square feet when the full project is complete, in 2032 – when the zoo celebrates its 150^th anniversary.

The area has seen population decline. But residential growth is strong in our cemeteries.

And they aren’t just repositories of bones.

Thursday and Sunday, Canalway Partners’ Buried History Days will host tours of Cleveland graveyards as part of a series that includes strolls through Lake View, Woodland, Riverside, Erie Street, Brookmere and Monroe Street cemeteries. Info.

These notorious haunts will tap your inner ghost-hunter.

Haserot Crying Angel in Lake View: The spooky bronze angel, sculpted in 1924 by Herman Matzen, cries black tears. Goths love it.

The legend of Hannes Tiedeman at Riverside: Whoa, the grave of the industrialist who built Franklin Castle – and, some say, is linked to its legendary horrors? Yes.

Philapena Kellogg Dean in Woodland: She was tried and found not guilty of murder. Now, she haunts the cemetery, scissors in hand.

Joc-O-Sot at Erie Street: Meskwaki tribe chief died while touring Europe in a ‘Wild West Show.’ His wishes to be buried on tribal grounds in Wisconsin weren’t fulfilled. His grave is cracked and he’s said to roam the grounds.

WEDNESDAY

10x3 Songwriter/Band Showcase: Brent Kirby’s showcase of 10 songwriters each playing three songs takes the Bop Stop at 7 p.m. Info.

My Hero Academia in Concert: The 15-piece band performs Yuki Hayashi’s scores to the classic Japanese manga series. State Theatre. 7:30 p.m. Info.

THURSDAY

Dexter Davis, Body & Soul: The beloved Cleveland artist is part of three concurrent exhibitions at Artists Archives of the Western Reserve that also feature Robert Wright and David Batz. 5:30 p.m. (Through Dec. 19.) Info.

Mike Polk Jr. Show: Cleveland’s favorite funny guy gets vampiric with this celebration of ghoulishness and Halloween-themed hijinks. 7:15 p.m. Frolic Cabaret. Info.

👉 View Listing on Zillow

Hulu has just released the trailer for the Cleveland Browns drama, The Land.

Starring Christopher Meloni, William H. Macy and Mandy Moore, it follows the Browns’ head coach, a newly drafted Ohio State QB and the family that owns the team.

The series features a must-see filming location: The 49er.

Built in 1957 and owned by Bob & Sheri Brake since 1981, it’s a hidden gem and one of the Cleveland’s coolest diners.

Check out the ‘50s-era jukeboxes around the vintage counter and stools, the tiled floor, old-school car décor, old-timey hospitality, heap of charm and delicious diner staples at retro prices.

“Chris Meloni sat at our counter out of the blue in December,” says Brake. “I was mad I missed him because I was off that day.”

The Land premieres February 15, 2027, the day after the Super Bowl.

Monkey Island at the Cleveland Zoo, 1937. The exhibiting of animals took a more modern turn when zoos started creating fabricated environments that imitated what observers might imagine a monkey's natural habitat to look like.

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64 °F 🌡️ 46 °F | ☀️ (Sunny) | 10% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 8 mph NE (≈ 7 knots)

66 °F 🌡️ 47 °F | ☀️ (Mostly Sunny) | 6% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 9 mph NNW (≈ 8 knots)

66 °F 🌡️ 44 °F | ☀️ (Sunny) | 6% | 💨 ↑ ≈ 10 mph E (≈ 9 knots)

_{Please note that weather conditions can change rapidly. For the most up-to-date information, consider checking a reliable local weather service.}

Away vs. Titans, 1 PM October 25 (Sunday)

Away vs. 76ers, 7 PM October 22 (Thursday)

Home vs. Nets, 7:30 PM October 24 (Saturday)

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