Cleveland Cavaliers Receive Disheartening Prediction for NBA Playoffs

The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with the No. 1 overall seed in the Eastern Conference and are awaiting their first-round playoff opponent, but the opening round is certainly not their biggest concern.

The Cavaliers should absolutely get past Round 1, and if they don't, some serious soul searching will need to take place. But what about the second round and beyond?

Cleveland isn't the favorite to represent the East in the finals, as the defending champion Boston Celtics hold that distinction. Taking it a step further, there are even some questions as to whether or not the Cavs will even see the Celtics in the conference finals.

Webb Constable of Sir Charles in Charge recently dropped some bold NBA playoff predictions, and among them was the Indiana Pacers upsetting the Cavaliers in the second round.

"If the Pacers can hold serve offensively, I believe they have the ability to pull off a major upset," Constable wrote. "Cleveland's defense, anchored by Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen, is second in opponent field goal percentage inside of five feet and nearly as good from 5-9 feet. Indiana doesn't rely on inside scoring—they are 14th in attempts per game inside of five feet and 23rd from 5-9 feet. They excel on the outside, whereas Cleveland is weaker on defense. Tyrese Haliburton is a matchup problem for Cleveland's small guards with his quickness and length."

Constable added that the Cavs cooled off considerably over the final month of the regular season and that the Pacers—who went 41-18 over their final 59 games—actually have more playoff experience, as they reached the conference finals last spring.

There is also the fact that Indiana beat Cleveland in three of the four regular-season matchups between the two teams, although the Cavs understandably didn't have Donovan Mitchell for the latter two battles.

This is certainly not going to be an easy road for the Cavaliers.

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