The Cavaliers’ playoff picture is becoming clearer.
In the first round, the Cavs will face the winner of Friday’s NBA Play-In Tournament showdown between the Miami Heat and Atlanta Hawks. The Heat defeated the Chicago Bulls 109-90 on Wednesday night and advanced to visit the Hawks, who opened the Play-In Tournament Tuesday with a 120-95 loss at the Orlando Magic.
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The top-seeded Cavs (64-18 in the regular season) will host whoever becomes the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed — either the Heat (37-45) or Hawks (40-42) — in Game 1 at 7 p.m. Sunday at Rocket Arena.
Cleveland Cavaliers news: Cavs star Donovan Mitchell’s sacrifice is paying off with NBA playoffs approaching
What were the Cleveland Cavs’ records vs. Miami Heat/Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks in the 2024-25 NBA regular season?
In the regular season, the Cavs went …
Note: All three Cavs-Hawks games occurred before the two teams executed a blockbuster trade on Feb. 6. The Cavs traded guard Caris LeVert, forward Georges Niang, three second-round draft choices and two pick swaps to the Hawks in exchange for wing De’Andre Hunter.
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Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young (11) defends Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell (45) on Jan. 30, 2025, in Cleveland, Ohio.
What do Cavs play in NBA playoffs? Cleveland Cavaliers playoff schedule
Here are the dates and times for the Cavs’ first-round series:
Game 1: Heat or Hawks at Cavs — 7 p.m. Sunday, April 20, TNT/truTV/Max
Game 2: Heat or Hawks at Cavs — 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, NBA TV
Game 3: Cavs at Heat or Hawks — 1 p.m. Saturday, April 26, TNT
Game 4: Cavs at Heat or Hawks — TBD time Monday, April 28, TBD TV
Game 5: Heat or Hawks at Cavs — TBD time Wednesday, April 30 (if necessary), TBD TV
Game 6: Cavs at Heat or Hawks — TBD time Friday, May 2 (if necessary), TBD TV
Game 7: Heat or Hawks at Cavs — TBD time Sunday, May 4 (if necessary), TBD TV
NBA playoff bracket: Eastern Conference
Note: Should the Cavs advance past the first round, they would face the winner of Pacers versus Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs will face Heat or Hawks in first round of 2025 NBA playoffs