Jackson Flickinger

5 days ago | fearthesword.com | Jackson Flickinger

Photo by NBA Photos/NBAE via Getty Images The Cleveland Cavaliers will be taking on the Miami Heat in the first round of the playoffs that begin this weekend. The Heat advanced out of the Play-In Tournament as the tenth seed by defeating both the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks on the road. Their win Friday in Atlanta came in a 123-114 overtime win. Miami has had an unconventional path to the playoffs. Their season started poorly due to constant conflicts with Jimmy Butler.

6 days ago | fearthesword.com | Jackson Flickinger

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images Taking away or limiting what your opponent does best is one of the main goals in the playoffs. The best teams have multiple counters or are so good at one thing — like the Boston Celtics with their three-point shot — that you can’t take away what they want to do. You can only limit it. We don’t entirely know how this version of the Cleveland Cavaliers will translate to the playoffs.

1 week ago | fearthesword.com | Jackson Flickinger

Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell missed the last four games of the regular season after injuring his ankle in the April 6 loss to the Sacramento Kings. Mitchell initially hurt his ankle in the third quarter, but came back to play the final 15 minutes before being shut down for the remainder of the regular season. It doesn’t appear that the ankle injury is going to keep him off the court.

1 week ago | fearthesword.com | Jackson Flickinger

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images The Cleveland Cavaliers' playoff hopes have rested on the shoulders of Evan Mobley for three straight springs now. Unlike previous years, Mobley’s offensive game is well-rounded enough to handle that burden. Taking a step up as a shooter is to thank for that. Those improvements are due to one thing: Confidence. “I just love his confidence right now,” head coach Kenny Atkinson said when asked about Mobley’s improvements as an outside shooter last week.

1 week ago | fearthesword.com | Jackson Flickinger

Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images The Cleveland Cavaliers will have to wait until Friday night to figure out who their first-round opponent will be in the NBA Playoffs. The three teams that it could be are the Atlanta Hawks, Miami Heat, or Chicago Bulls. We do, however, know when they will be playing. Here’s the first-round schedule:Game 1: Sun. April 20, in Cleveland, at 7 PM on TNTGame 2: Wed. April 23, in Cleveland, at 7:30 PM on NBA TVGame 3: Sat.