The wait is finally over. Playoff basketball is here, and it begins with a first-round matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Toronto Raptors. This season has been defined by injury for the Cavs. It started with Darius Garland and Max Strus missing the beginning of the season. Injury concerns for Garland partially led to them […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers are entering the 2026 NBA Playoffs with a chip on their shoulders. Before they can prove anything of substance and go the distance, they need to take care of business as the heavy favorites in their first-round series with the Toronto Raptors. Here are three keys to making sure that happens. All […]
CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers played an uninspired first 43 minutes against a tanking Indiana Pacers team that only had nine available players in early April. The final five minutes were different. Cleveland was up four with five minutes to play before hitting the accelerator. They scored 11 points over the next three minutes to […]
INDEPENDENCE — Basketball isn’t an individual sport, but you might not know that if you just watched First Take or listened to sports-talk radio. Individuals are judged solely on whether or not their teams come through in the postseason. And while that’s an important part of the conversation, one player can only do so much. […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers finally discovered midway through this season that they’re better when Jarrett Allen is heavily featured than they are when he’s not. That process was halted at the beginning of March when he injured his knee during the team’s win over the Detroit Pistons. Allen returned to the lineup the last week of […]
This is it. The last eight years for the Cleveland Cavaliers will come down to the next eight weeks. From LeBron James leaving town that jumpstarted a rebuild featuring Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen. To acquiring Donovan Mitchell in 2022 to start their contention window. To multiple playoff failures, including last year’s catastrophe […]
The city of Cleveland has fallen in love with Donovan Mitchell. It seems the feeling is mutual, as the seven-time All-Star once again opened up about his time in the land. “I love Cleveland,” Mitchell told The Athletic. “I’ve said it before: I want to play here for as long as I can.” Mitchell is […]
The final weeks of the regular season are when the top teams visibly turn their attention to the postseason. They know who they are and what their identity will be in the playoffs. Unless the team is vying for a higher seeding, you will see a visible dip in play for the final weeks. The […]
INDEPENDENCE — Cleveland Cavaliers head coach Kenny Atkinson has been asked how James Harden has helped this team since his arrival in early February. He’s spoken at length about how good a passer he is and how skilled he is as a scorer. But there’s one thing that sticks out above all of that — […]
INDEPENDENCE — The Cleveland Cavaliers had 41 different starting lineups throughout the regular season. That was mostly due to injuries and major trades that shook up the roster at the deadline. But of those 41 different combinations, one has yet to stick out with the playoffs starting on Saturday. As of now, head coach Kenny […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs starting on Saturday. The Cavs lost all three of their regular-season games to the Raptors, but each came before December. Let’s take a look at what the numbers say about this Raptors team. Overall team efficiency Offensive rating: 116.8, […]
INDEPENDENCE — The Cleveland Cavaliers have struggled to stay healthy all season. This has led to them having 41 different starting lineup combinations and just three players participating in 65 or more games. For context, a team like the Boston Celtics had 23 different starting lineup combinations and nine players available for 65 or more […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 between the Cavs and Raptors will be on Saturday, April 18. The game will be broadcast exclusively on Prime. The schedule for the rest of the games can be seen below. Games five through seven will […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished the season 52-30 and have a first-round date with the Toronto Raptors on Saturday. Before we look ahead, let’s reflect on the regular season and hand out some report cards. All grades are based on our expectations for each player before the season began. Donovan Mitchell 27.9 points, 5.7 assists, 4.5 […]
The Toronto Raptors might look like one of the worst matchups for the Cleveland Cavaliers based on the sweep they conducted, but there are a lot of asterisks at play. For one, the starting lineups they used in those games aren’t exactly the ones we’ll be seeing when the series starts next week. The main […]
The regular season is over. The Cleveland Cavaliers have finished with a 52-30, which is good enough for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They will take on the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. Final 2025-26 NBA Standings Here are the final standings for each conference, with the Play-In Tournament […]
Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored 26 points, Tyrese Proctor added 22 off the bench, and the Cleveland Cavaliers wrapped up the regular season with a 130-117 victory over the visiting Washington Wizards. With nearly every starter sitting out the finale to prepare for the postseason, Cleveland’s bench and G League players paced the team to its 52nd […]
That’s a wrap. The Cleveland Cavaliers ended the 2025-26 regular season with a win over the Washington Wizards. Let’s get to the grades. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. Jaylon Tyson 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists Tyson looked like the kid who decided to show up on Senior Skip […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers… didn’t show us much in their final game against the Atlanta Hawks. There isn’t a whole lot to take from this one. So don’t give any of these grades too much merit. All grades are based on our usual expectations for each player. James Harden 20 points, 5 assists, 5 turnovers Harden […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers had their butts handed to them 124-102 by the Atlanta Hawks in what was likely the last night resembling anything of a normal game for the Cavs. After this, there is only one game against the Washington Wizards left on the schedule. I… wouldn’t expect any major players to suit up for […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers will take on the Atlanta Hawks again. This time, the Cavs will be down a few rotation players. We’ll see if they still have enough to get a second-straight win. Share your thoughts as the game unfolds. If you aren’t a member of the community, sign up so you can talk to […]
We don’t know who the Cleveland Cavaliers will be facing in the first round of the NBA playoffs. But there’s a good chance that it will be the Atlanta Hawks — a team that they defeated on Wednesday and will be taking on again on Friday evening. Earlier this week, we asked fans who would […]
It was announced on April 9th that the WNBA and NBA Board of Governors formally approved the WNBA expansion in Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia, with the big news being when they will begin play. In June of last year, it was announced that the WNBA was bringing a team to Cleveland. The Cleveland WNBA team […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers are all but locked into the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference with the New York Knicks win over the Boston Celtics on Thursday evening. For the Cavs to move up, they’d have to win both of their last two games, while New York would have to lose their final two games. […]
The Cleveland Cavaliers are balancing getting reps together before the playoffs and trying to go into the postseason completely healthy. On Wednesday, that meant playing all available players in a game that doesn’t have too much significance for the Cavs in the standings. On Friday, that means resting several key players in their rematch with […]