Cavaliers rumors: Should they lose tonight vs Nets on purpose?

The Cleveland Cavaliers are on the cusp of doing something they haven’t done in nearly three decades, go to the NBA playoffs without LeBron James on the team. They are virtually a lock to make the playoffs and have a 94 percent chance to be the fourth seed, per PlayoffStatus.com.

The biggest reason they are nearly locked into the No. 4 spot is that the teams just behind them in the standings have lost a few games over the past week, increasing the gap between the Cavs and teams like the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets behind them.

Who should the Cavaliers want to play in the first round?

While the Cavs might be on course for the fourth seed, it’s not clear who their opponent will be. The Knicks certainly have the inside track to earn the fifth seed, and therefore play Cleveland in the first round, but it’s far from a done deal. The Miami Heat and Nets are both two games back of New York.

It’s been reported in recent days (first by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com) that the Cavaliers would prefer to play the Nets in the playoffs rather than the Knicks. That seems fairly obvious on the surface; the Nets don’t have the same top-end talent as the Knicks (or Heat) and their record is built on the back of Kevin Durant, not Mikal Bridges (that is not a knock on Bridges, who is taking the next step this season. But he isn’t Kevin Durant).

The problem with that plan is that the Nets are behind the Knicks and aren’t playing as well, which would make it difficult for this plan to come to fruition. The Nets have lost four straight games, including to the Cavs on Tuesday, and dropped into a tie for seventh. Yet at the same time, the Knicks have lost two straight to keep Brooklyn within striking distance.

The Cavs play both the Knicks and Nets in the next week. If they beat the Nets tonight and lose to the Knicks next week it will all but lock the Knicks into the fifth seed. If they lose to Brooklyn and beat the Knicks, on the other hand, the Nets will be one game back with the chance to play their way up.

Should the Cavaliers lose tonight’s game on purpose?

If the Cavaliers truly want to play Brooklyn it would behoove them to rest their top players and throw the game tonight. It has some marginal value for the Cavs to get extra rest, but the real value would be to increase their chances of facing a weaker opponent in the first round.

There are downside risks to throwing the game as well. If the Cavs lose to the Nets and to the Knicks next week, it opens the door for New York to catch them in the standings and steal home-court advantage. There is also the murky realms of momentum and team spirit, with the idea of throwing a game anathema to the competitive fire the Cavaliers have been playing with all year.

It’s unlikely that the Cavs take this route, especially not with so much time left in the season. If there was a game or two left after tonight instead of seven for the Cavs and nine for the Nets it seems like the team could strongly consider it; as it is, it’s doubtful the Cavaliers do anything other than go all-out to win tonight. There is the faintest sliver of hope that Cleveland could still catch the Philadelphia 76ers for the No. 3 seed.

Look for the Cavs to play their full complement of players tonight and try to win the game. Will J.B. Bickerstaff be quick to pull the plug if the Nets have a lead? Yeah, probably, and the Nets are good enough that they could win anyway even if the Cavs try. There’s a real case for the team to throw the game tonight, but that doesn’t mean it will happen.