Best and worst-case scenarios for Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs

Cavaliers best-case playoff scenario

Realistically looking at the hierarchy of the Eastern Conference, the Cavaliers can compete with the top teams, but they lack the experience necessary to compete for a championship this season.

This first-round series against the New York Knicks will likely be the most competitive in the East. Assuming Cleveland can get through that series intact, the Milwaukee Bucks will be waiting for them.

Cleveland has shown it can hang with Milwaukee this season, but their Central Division foe has a deep team filled with veterans who have been in those hotly-contested playoff battles.

But if we’re talking best-case scenario, it is possible (and I stress POSSIBLE) that Cleveland could catch lightning in a bottle and upset the Bucks.

It would take multiple 40-point games by Mitchell, as we saw at the end of the regular season. Darius Garland would also have to average over 20 points per game and start connecting on his three-point attempts more consistently than he had been in late-season games.

Over the last 15 games, Garland connected on just 30.6 percent of his three-point attempts after Garland hit 41.9 percent from beyond the arc before the All-Star break.

Taking down the Bucks would also mean limiting Giannis Antetokounmpo, and that task is far easier said than done. Cleveland’s big men would have to force him into taking jump shots and limiting how often Giannis goes to the foul line.

If the Cavaliers were to pull off the series upset of the Bucks, they would run into the winner of the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, in all likelihood, in the Conference Finals.

While they surely can compete with either of those teams, taking down the Bucks would take a lot out of the Cavaliers, and they would likely get eliminated.

In this scenario, a run to the Conference Finals would undoubtedly be seen as a realistic best-case scenario, as this would energize both the front office and the fans going into the 2023-24 season.

Now, let’s get to the worst-case scenario for the Cavaliers in the 2023 Playoffs.