With two thirds of the teams in the NBA having less than 10 games to go in the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers included, a clear idea of what the postseason will look like is starting to take shape. The Cavaliers are a squad who have their playoff path pretty much laid out for them at this stage. Barring a stunning collapse in front of them, Cleveland should end up fourth in the East.
The Cavs have been locked into that spot for quite some time now and there has not been a ton of let-up from the teams in front of them. The New York Knicks have won seven in a row. Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics are still 7-3 in their last 10 games even with Jayson Tatum still finding his footing.
As things stand, the Cavaliers are three and a half games back of the Celtics and three games back of the Knicks. Can that change during this last chunk of the season? Sure. Is it more likely that Cleveland already knows their positioning for the playoffs? Yes.
Cavaliers should have Eastern Conference Finals in sight via the fourth seed
The good news for those still hoping the Cavaliers move up in the standings is their remaining strength of schedule. Cleveland has an easy path to the finish line.
The opponents left for them to play during this regular season have a combined winning percentage of .429. That ranks 29th in the NBA, with only the Brooklyn Nets (.423) having to face weaker competition.
No one would blame either the Celtics or Knicks for looking on in envy of the Cavs. Boston's remaining opponents have a winning percentage if .520, ranking just outside of the top-10 toughest schedules remaining. New York is in the top-five, with their competition boasting a mark of .551.
It is not impossible for these three teams to do some flip-flopping before everyone hits 82 games played. However, with the ground the Cavaliers have to make up, they would need one of the two teams ahead of them to seriously slip in the win-loss column while remaining nearly flawless themselves.
Cleveland is also four games clear of the fifth seed right now, making fourth a comfortable spot to be sitting in when considering both directions. The biggest question the Cavaliers may be asking themselves is who ends up as their first-round matchup at this point.
Assuming they beat whoever is the best of the Eastern Conference's bottom-half playoff teams, a date with the Detroit Pistons awaits them in the second round. If the Cavaliers do their part and play up to their full potential, a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals looks very realistic from where they are.