Beech: Who do the Cleveland Cavaliers want to play in the first round?

After dropping two games in Staples Center this past weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves in the midst of another skid.

After being soundly beaten by the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night, the Cleveland Cavaliers find themselves sitting with the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference standings, a spot that feels unfamiliar for an NBA title contender.

The Cavs have been in the last three straight NBA Finals, winning one and losing two. That said, not caring about the regular season and looking incapable of being the best team in the East are completely different, and the way the Cavs are looking it seems like they are leaning towards the latter.

They’ve dropped six of their last eleven, and this isn’t the Cavs we’ve been used to over the past few seasons.

With the gap behind the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics looking too large at this point to makeup, the Cavs are looking at the 3-seed as the highest they could be in the Eastern Conference playoffs; it is also very possible the Cavs could find themselves as low as the eighth seed, given how bunched up the 3-8 teams are.

I want to examine some of the Cavs’ first-round playoff match-ups.

I am going to assume the Cavs get between the third and sixth seeds, and avoid Toronto Raptors the Boston Celtics in the opening round. I will list the pros and cons of the Cavs facing each opponent.