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Who are the Cleveland Cavaliers facing in round two of the NBA Playoffs? originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Both Central Division teams still in the playoffs closed out the first round on Sunday with a pair of Game 7 victories. To start the day, you had the Detroit Pistons put the brakes on the Orlando Magic's improbable run. A run that nearly saw the Magic take out the Pistons, holding a 3-2 series lead and blowing their chance to move to the second round at home in Game 6, in what can only be described as one of the worst performances in NBA history. Their follow-up showing in Game 7 on Sunday wasn't much better, and the Pistons got the easy win 116-94.
The Cleveland Cavaliers followed suit on Sunday, knocking off the Toronto Raptors in a Game 7 that wasn't nearly as close as it started off to be. The Cavs trailed almost all of the first half, until Cleveland turned things around and tied the game up right before the end of the second quarter. They didn't look back after that, closing out the game 114-102.
Now, the Pistons and the Cavs will face off in the second round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs with a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals on the line. The two teams faced off four times during the regular season, splitting the series 2-2. While that may seem like the series should be close, it's important to note that the Cavaliers never faced off against the Pistons with their playoff roster.
More: The Eastern Conference has never been this open heading into a Game 7
At no point during the regular season did Cleveland have the starting lineup of Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, Evan Mobley, Dean Wade an Jarrett Allen for any one of the games they played. Despite that, they were still able to split the regular-season series with Detroit.
This should make things rather interesting as Round 2 commences.
The other second-round matchup for the Eastern Conference includes the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers, who kick off the second round in a huge matchup following the 76ers' upset over the Boston Celtics.
In the West, the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder collide in what could be LeBron James' last hurrah with the purple and gold. The hobbled but roaring Minnesota Timberwolves survived round one and will face off with the daunting San Antonio Spurs.
More NBA news:
- The Eastern Conference is still wide open ahead of the second round
- Paul George and the reason behind the 76ers not willing to lose Game 7
- VJ Edgecombe receives much-deserved praise for his defensive play
- The Boston Celtics appreciate Joel Embiid's impact after making his return
- Jaylen Brown believed in the 76ers more when they had no Joel Embiid
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