NBA Playoffs 2017: Who will Cavaliers play in Conference Finals?
Now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have completed the sweep of the Toronto Raptors, let’s look at their next two potential opponents.
The Cavaliers handled their business in the conference semifinals, taking out the Toronto Raptors in four games. The defending champions now await the winner of the Washington Wizards-Boston Celtics series.
Regardless, it seems like the earliest that the Conference Finals will begin is Monday, May 15. If the Wizards-Celtics series goes to a Game 7, the next round would begin Wednesday, May 17. So the Cavaliers, especially LeBron James, are looking at between 8-10 days of rest.
Let’s take a look at the two potential opponents, the Celtics or the Wizards and assess the matchups.
Boston Celtics
The first potential opponent is the Boston Celtics. This would mean that the Cavaliers would start the series on the road, as the Celtics are the No. 1 seed in the East. For a large part of the year, most people had thought that Boston’s young nucleus could start to challenge the Cavaliers and their throne.
Well, on April 5, the Cavaliers headed to Boston for a prime-time showdown with the Celtics. The storylines were building and the No. 1 seed was on the line. LeBron and the Cavs sent a message, by demolishing the Celtics, 114-91.
Next: 30 richest players in the NBA
The Cavaliers hold the season series edge, defeating the Celtics three out of the four times they played. The one time that Boston won, it came down to a missed corner-three by Deron Williams in his Cavaliers’ debut.
The point guard matchup in this series is fantastic, with Isaiah Thomas and Kyrie Irving. But there’s nobody on the Celtics that can slow down LeBron James. Their elite defenders, Avery Bradley and Jae Crowder, are too small to consistently slow down the King.
Cavaliers will be well rested before this series begins, while Boston would have had to struggle past Washington to get to this point. All signs point a third-straight Finals berth for the Cavaliers, even if Boston holds home-court advantage in this series.
Washington Wizards
One of the best games of the regular season was between the Cavaliers and Wizards. It came in early February when LeBron James hit a fadeaway three-pointer, falling into the Wizards’ bench, to send the game to OT. Kyrie Irving took over in the extra period and brought the Cavaliers a win.
The Cavaliers and Wizards squared off three times in the regular season, with Cleveland taking two out of the three games. The Wizards took the latest matchup, when John Wall went berserk, scoring 37 points.
Once again, the point guard matchup will be one to watch in this potential series. John Wall and Kyrie Irving are two of the best point guards in the NBA and it’s going to be a fun and exciting matchup.
The Wizards biggest issue could be their lack of experience. With the duo of John Wall and Bradley Beal, Washington has never advanced this far in the playoffs. On the other hand, the Cavaliers made it to the Eastern Conference Finals three times in a row.
Washington’s lack of depth and primary LeBron defender might also be an issue in this series. The Cavaliers have flipped a switch on both ends of the floor and it’s still in question of the Wizards can even slow them down.
Next: NBA Playoffs 2017: Cavaliers vs. Raptors: 3 takeaways from Game 4
Both matchups possess interesting storylines, but neither should scare the Cavaliers. Cleveland is by far and away the best team in the Eastern Conference. More than asking if the Cavs will get to the Finals, it should be how many games will they lose on the way to the Finals.