It’s go-time for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They already know their first-round matchup, and they should feel quite confident about it.
The Cavs will face off with the Miami Heat, and while that could’ve spelled trouble last year or in the past, that’s not likely to be the case this time around.
At least, that’s how Chris Fedor feels.
In his latest column, the renowned insider pointed out that the Heat simply don’t have enough talent to match up with the Cavs, not to mention the fact that Cleveland spent the entire season playing at a high level, whereas the Heat were more focused on weathering the Jimmy Butler storm:
“Everything points to the Cavaliers being a legitimate championship contender,” Fedor wrote. “They are the better, deeper and more complete team. They possess higher-end talent. They can play multiple styles. They have more solutions and pathways to success. They have a more prolific offense (Miami ranked 24th in scoring and 21st in efficiency). They spent 82 games building championship habits while Miami tried to navigate the incessant Butler drama that eventually led to a midseason trade.”
It’s hard to argue with any of those statements.
The Cavaliers had the best record in the Eastern Conference from start to finish, and it wasn’t even close.
They ranked in the top ten in defense while bolstering either the best or the second-best offense all year long.
Granted, they didn’t close out the season on a high note, but a lot of that also had to do with the fact that they were already qualified for the playoffs.
The Heat enter this series riding some positive momentum after easily taking down the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.
Even so, all things considered, as experienced as the Heat are in the playoffs and regardless of Erik Spoelstra’s greatness as a tactician, it’s hard to envision the Heat getting past the Cavaliers four out of seven times in this playoff series.
NEXT: Kenny Atkinson Gets Honest About Heat Ahead Of First Round Matchup
