The Cleveland Cavaliers have had an interesting, up-and-down season, and though most preseason projections had them claiming the No. 1 or No. 2 seed, it now looks like the Cavs may fall all the way to No. 4. If the 76ers, who have won 14 straight, win their final two games, Cleveland will slide into the fourth seed and square off with Indiana.
The first-round matchup may not matter as much as the second. If Cleveland slides to No. 4, it's quite possible the Cavs will meet the Raptors in round two.
The Cavs may not have had the best regular season, but they've still been good. With a Monday night win over the Knicks, Cleveland clinched the Central Division. But that accomplishment doesn't mean all that much to veteran guard J.R. Smith, who won a ring with the Cavs in 2016.
"I've won the championship already, and I feel I know how that feels," Swish said after the game, according to ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "It's no knock to the division championship, but we don't play for those. We play for that gold, boss. To the younger guys, congratulations, but we still got work to do."
Every sports quote becomes twice as good when the athlete adds "boss" to the end of it. This is a fact.
The NBA Playoffs will kick off Saturday. Despite its low seed, Cleveland is a favorite to make it to its fourth consecutive NBA Finals.
The team's success will ride on the shoulders of MVP candidate LeBron James, who, despite being 33 years old, is having one of the best seasons of his career. LBJ is averaging 27.7 points, 9.2 assists, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game.
