The Associated Press and wire reports Cleveland has won its first 12 games and is off to the best start in the league. There are 10 teams in the Western Conference with winning records. And somehow, only two teams in the Eastern Conference have winning records. There is a common denominator on both sides of the ledger: Everybody is hurt. At least it seems that way. Joel Embiid, Paul George and Tyrese Maxey have yet to play together for Philadelphia. Khris Middleton hasn’t debuted this season for Milwaukee. Same goes for Kawhi Leonard with the Clippers. New Orleans — already without CJ McCollum and Dejounte Murray — is bracing for weeks without Zion Williamson, and the injury news got even worse Tuesday with the announcement that Jose Alvarado will be out for at least three weeks. Orlando will be missing Paolo Banchero for probably 10 more games, at minimum. Scottie Barnes is sidelined in Toronto. Phoenix’s Kevin Durant, Memphis’ Ja Morant and Miami’s Jimmy Butler are all likely out for a week or two. And now Oklahoma City is facing months without Chet Holmgren, who missed what would have been his entire first season, then played every game last season, and now is out. Nobody, it seems, is safe from the injury bug. Not even the Cavs, who have gotten off to their red-hot start with Max Strus out since the preseason with a sprained ankle. But they have more than endured, and other teams have found ways to get through being short-handed as well. Boston, for example, just played four games without Jaylen Brown; the defending NBA champions, to no one’s surprise, are off to a 9-2 start. Other than the Celtics and Cavs, every team in the East starts play Tuesday at .500 or worse. The 12-0 Cavs’ start is the best start to an NBA season since the record-breaking 2015-16 Warriors, who set league records with a 24-0 start and a 73-9 campaign. Five of the last seven teams to start the season 12-0 have gone on to reach the NBA Finals, according to ESPN. The Cavaliers’ 9-0 start to the season was already the best in franchise history. “It’s great to be part of history,” Cavaliers star guard Donovan Mitchell told reporters after the game, per ESPN. “I never want to take those things for granted along the road when we’re doing it in various ways. “We’re doing it in ways where we are blowing out teams. We’re winning from behind. We’re winning close games. And it’s somebody different every night leading the charge. It’s always a group effort.” It’s the second straight game the Cavaliers have fought back from behind, clawing back a 13-point, fourth-quarter deficit against the Nets on Saturday. “This group is locked in,” Cleveland’s first-year head coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters. “I do think there’s (been) questions about this group, whether they can get to the next level, can they make the next step? “So, I think when you have that, you have that chip (on your shoulder), you focus even more. “There’s another level of concentration, another level of focus, another level of detail that these guys use to carry us to 12-0 so far.” Plenty of teams are depleted going into this week’s start of the NBA Cup — the new name for what was called the In-Season Tournament a year ago when it debuted. Among Tuesday’s tournament games on the colorful courts: Dallas at Golden State, in Klay Thompson’s return to the Bay Area for the first time in anything other than a Warriors uniform. “To me, it’s just another regular-season game in November,” Thompson said, downplaying what certainly will be more than that. It’ll mean plenty to the Warriors. “We’ve had homecomings before,” Golden State star Stephen Curry said, “but nothing like this. … He deserves the celebration and the welcome that he’s going to get.” For some teams — Philadelphia (2-7) and Milwaukee (2-8) among them — maybe the NBA Cup can be the springboard to a much-needed jump-start to the season. The 76ers are getting Embiid back, which obviously will help. The Bucks have Giannis Antetokounmpo but will open tournament play Tuesday against Toronto without Damian Lillard, added to the injury list Monday night because he’s in concussion protocol. “I think you’ll see every team, no matter what their record is, I think people will take it way more serious,” Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. “First of all, I think they understand it now. I did a lot of interviews and I was with a few guys in Vegas who made it (last year for the tournament’s final four) and didn’t understand it. They didn’t even know how they got there. Now, I think everybody kind of understands it.” Teams are in a group of five, play the other four teams once, and the six group winners along with two wild-cards go to the quarterfinals. Win that, and you go to Las Vegas for the semifinals. But nobody wants to dig too deep a hole, either. It’s early, but what happens now might be the difference for some teams when it’s time to fight for seeding in April. Cavaliers at 76ers When: 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13 Where: Wells Fargo Center Records (through Nov. 11): Cavaliers 12-0, 76ers 2-7 TV: FanDuel Sports Network Radio: WTAM-AM 1100, WMMS-FM 100.7