Last season, the Cleveland Cavaliers faltered down the stretch and wound up in the Play-In Tournament where they lost to the Brooklyn Nets and the Atlanta Hawks. This season, the Cavs are poised to avoid the Play-In and go straight into the playoffs. They’re fourth in the Eastern Conference with a 39-26 record (seven and a half games out of first). In order to have a successful playoff run, the month of March is absolutely crucial for the Cavaliers.
After grinding out a 132-123 overtime victory in Boston on Oct. 28 and eking out a 114-113 OT victory in Cleveland on Nov. 2, the Cavaliers led the season series against the Boston Celtics 2-0. All five starters scored double digits for the Cavaliers in their one-point victory in Cleveland: Evan Mobley had 15 points, Jarrett Allen added 14, Darius Garland poured in 29 points, Caris LeVert contributed 15, and Donovan Mitchell added 25.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have a tough stretch of games ahead
In a span of six days, the Celtics and Cavaliers will “exchange pleasantries” twice. First, they squared off at TD Garden in Boston on Mar. 1 on ESPN. Boston defeated Cleveland 117-113. Jayson Tatum led the victorious Celtics with 41 points. Mitchell had 44 points for the Cavaliers. Although the Cavs can no longer sweep the Celtics, they can still win the season series 3-1 when the two teams turn around and tangle at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (RMFH) in downtown Cleveland on Monday.
The energy inside the FieldHouse for Monday’s game between the Celtics and Cavaliers is going to be off the charts. An argument could be made that it’s the biggest game of the season thus far for Cleveland. They have the opportunity to win the season series against the defending Eastern Conference champions. If this prospect comes to fruition, the Cavs would be sending a powerful message to the Celtics. “If we face you in the playoffs, we’re not going to be a pushover. If you want to advance to the next round, we’re gonna make you earn it!”
The Cleveland Cavaliers could face the surging New York Knicks in the playoffs
When the Cavaliers host the Celtics on Mar. 6, they’ll be catching Boston on the second night of a back-to-back. On Mar. 5, the Celtics have to host Jalen Brunson, Julius Randle, and the New York Knicks. Interestingly, the Celtics visited the Knicks on Feb. 27 before coming home to play the Cavaliers on Mar. 1.
The Knicks hung on to defeat the Cavaliers 105-103 at Madison Square Garden back on Jan. 24, which gave New York the 2-1 lead in the season series. If the playoffs began today, the Knicks and Cavaliers would be squaring off in Round 1.
If the Knicks and Cavaliers play in the postseason, one of the biggest storylines in the series would be centered around Donovan Mitchell. For a while, it looked like Mitchell was headed to Broadway. Instead, he’s playing in the shadow of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Even though the Cavs are fourth in the East at 39-26, the Knicks are nipping at their heels at 37-27, fifth in the East. A lot can change in a month’s time, but if New York and Cleveland continue to jockey for playoff positioning, then the importance of their showdown at RMFH on Mar. 31 is going to skyrocket!
New York will be trying to win the season series 3-1, while the Cavs will look to hold serve on their home floor and split the series 2-2. If the Cavs win that game, it means the home team will have won all four games. Whoever wins the showdown at the end of the month could end up hosting a potential Game 7 in what’s looking to be a very likely first-round matchup.
March holds a number of difficult East matchups for the Cavaliers
In between the games against the Celtics and the showdown against the Knicks which bookend the month of March, the Cavaliers have critical matchups against teams they might encounter in the postseason. The Cavs play the Miami Heat (twice), the Philadelphia 76ers, the Nets (twice), and the Hawks; all teams behind the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference standings.
Miami is seventh with a 33-30 record, just behind sixth-place Brooklyn at 34-28. The Cavs visit the Heat and Nets for two-game sets each. Cleveland heads to Miami-Dade Arena on Mar. 8 and Mar. 10. The Cavs and Heat split their first two meetings at RMFH, with Miami scraping by Cleveland 100-97 on Jan. 31 in their last matchup. The Heat improved to 29-23 on the season, while the Cavaliers fell to 31-22. Jimmy Butler was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points, while Bam Adebayo and Tyler Herro combined for 36 points (they each scored 18).
Cleveland heads to Barclays Center on Mar. 21 and Mar 23. Brooklyn and Miami are both within striking distance of Cleveland, so those four games could turn out to be crucial in how the standings shake-up. In their only meeting thus far, the Nets defeated the Cavs 125-117 in Cleveland the day after Christmas. Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant both scored 32 points for the Nets, but neither superstar still plays in Brooklyn.
In the Cavs’ last game in the “City of Brotherly Love,” although the final score was 118-112, the game was a lot more lopsided than the score indicates. The Philadelphia 76ers controlled the game from start to finish; at halftime, the 76ers led 63-38. As the game wore on, it seemed like the Cavs had one foot in the All-Star Break. The Cavs were trying to close the gap on the Sixers for the third seed in the conference standings, but Philadelphia said: “This is a three-team race between us, the Bucks, and Celtics. You guys should just go play in the sandbox with the other teams who are playoff contenders but not title contenders.”
Cleveland will be seeking payback when Philly comes to town on Mar. 15 on ESPN. That game comes on the second night of a back-to-back for Cleveland. The night prior, the Cavs will have been in the Hornets’ nest in Charlotte (which will be the second night of a two-game set against the Charlotte Hornets).
Cleveland should be very familiar with Atlanta shaping their postseason. The Hawks bounced the Cavaliers in the Play-In Tournament last season, but the Cavs can keep the Hawks down in the standings this season. When the Cavs went down to Atlanta on Feb. 24, the Hawks routed the Cavaliers 136-119, and Trae Young scored 34 points for Atlanta. Cleveland will head back to State Farm Arena on Mar. 28. Right now, the Hawks are eighth in the East with a record of 31-31, but there is a possibility that they could figure things out and jump up the standings.
When the Cavaliers made the huge trade to bring in Donovan Mitchell, it was for situations like this. There were too many times down the stretch last season when Cleveland needed Darius Garland to shoulder more of the playmaking and scoring responsibilities. But with Mitchell in the fold, Garland doesn’t have to carry that burden anymore. He can defer to Mitchell, who is more than capable of carrying the team on any given night. Mitchell’s 71-point, 11-assist, eight-rebound performance against the Chicago Bulls earlier this season was the strongest proof of this.
The month of March is filled with games that are absolutely crucial for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They’ll need to come out with a sense of urgency because there are only a handful of games left in the 2022-2023 season. It appears as though the Cavs are headed to the playoffs, but these games will determine what seed they are, who their first-round opponent will be, and if they will be playing into May and June.