Cavaliers vs. Pacers, First-Round schedule
Game 1: April 15, at Quicken Loans Arena, 3:30 p.m.; TV-ABC
Game 2: April 18, at Quicken Loans Arena, 7 p.m.; TV-TNT
Game 3: April 20, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 7 p.m.; TV-ESPN
Game 4: April 22, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, 8:30 p.m.; TV-TNT (if necessary)
Game 5: April 25, at Quicken Loans Arena; time, TV tba (if necessary)
Game 6: April 27, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse; time, TV tba (if necessary)
Game 7: April 29, at Quicken Loans Arena; time, TV tba (if necessary)
So begins what has become a rite of spring for fans of the Cavaliers since LeBron James “came home” from Miami not quite four years ago.
Having navigated though 82 games of a sometimes tumultuous regular season, James and the Cavs are set to face the surprising Indiana Pacers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The best-of-seven series begins April 15 at Quicken Loans Arena. Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m.
Off their 50-32 finish in the regular season, the Cavs secured the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They have home-court advantage in the first round against the fifth-seeded Pacers, who surprised many NBA observers with their revamped roster and 48-34 finish.
The Pacers and all-star guard Victor Oladipo, obtained from Oklahoma City in the July 2017 trade that sent former Indiana stalwart Paul George to the Thunder, took three of four games from the Cavs during the regular season.
Conventional wisdom has it the outcomes of those games are irrelevant now that the scene has shifted to the playoffs. For sure, the Cavs’ 4-0 sweep of Indiana in the first round of the 2017 playoffs must be discounted beyond noting the Pacers kept it close in every game.
James and the Cavs have lofty goals in mind, including a fourth straight trip to the NBA Finals and second NBA title in three seasons. They have a chance to do both, given the way James is playing in his 15th season.
Should the Cavs make it a four-peat as Eastern Conference playoff champs, James will be in the NBA Finals for an eighth straight season.
But that is putting the proverbial cart before the horse.
The Cavs first must clear the hurdle provided by the Pacers in a series that will span two weeks if it goes the distance.
Don’t miss
>> Cavaliers have had 29 different starting lineups in the 2017-18 season
>> Trials of regular season will toughen Cavaliers for playoff run | Jeff Schudel
>> How the Pacers became a 48-win team