The top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers will play the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs.
Cleveland enters this postseason with its biggest expectations in the post-LeBron James era, looking thoroughly impressive in marching to 64 wins. Anything less than the conference finals will be considered a major disappointment.
By defeating the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament, the Heat have become the first-ever 10th seed to advance to the playoffs from the play-in. Tyler Herro was terrific throughout, but it was Davion Mitchell who came up the most clutch in the overtime win against Atlanta.
Miami shipped out disgruntled superstar Jimmy Butler and had struggled to pick up the pieces since. Since Feb. 6, this team went 12-21 to finish the regular season.
As they showed against the Bulls and Heat, though, they will try to make the most of the opportunity in front of them.
The Cavs will be heavy favorites and below is how you can watch them try to start their playoff campaign right.
How To Watch Cavaliers Vs. Heat
- Game 1: Sunday, April 20 @ 7:00 p.m. EST. Watch on TNT.
- Game 2: Wednesday, April 23 @ 7:30 p.m. EST. Watch on NBA TV.
- Game 3: Saturday, April 26 @ 1:00 p.m. EST. Watch on TNT.
- Game 4: Monday, April 28. Time and TV Network TBD.
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, April 30. Time and TV Network TBD.
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, May 2. Time and TV Network TBD.
- Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, May 4. Time and TV Network TBD.
Series Format/Bracket
Each series follows a 2-2-1-1-1 format. This means the team with home-court advantage hosts the first two games, along with Game 5 and Game 7 (if necessary). The weaker seed will host Games 3, 4 and 6 (if necessary).
The winner of this Cavs vs. Heat series will face the winner of the No. 4 Indiana Pacers and No. 5 Milwaukee Bucks.
Cavaliers vs. Heat Season Series
Cleveland took the season series against Miami 2-1.
- Dec. 8: Heat win, 122-113, in Miami.
- Jan. 29: Cavs win, 126-106, in Miami.
- Mar. 5: Cavs win, 112-107, in Cleveland.
