The best offense led the Cavaliers in the NBA. Also, they had enough defense not to give that NBA betting advantage back. Consider the trio of SG Donovan Mitchell, PG Darius Garland, and PF Evan Mobley made for one of the best in the Association. The first seed in the Eastern Conference for the 2025 NBA Playoffs went to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his first season as head coach, Kenny Atkinson led the Cavaliers to their second-best regular-season record in franchise history. Cleveland bested the defending world champion Boston Celtics for the top seed.
2025 NBA Playoffs First Round Preview: Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat
| Date and Time: | Wednesday, April 23, 2025, 7:30 p.m. ET. |
|---|---|
| Location: | Rocket Arena, Cleveland, OH. |
| TV Coverage: | NBA TV |
| Team | Spread | Total | ML | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Miami Heat | +12 -110 | 211½ -110 | +490 |  |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | -12 -110 | 211½ -110 | -674 | |
| ||||
Cleveland Cavaliers Series Schedule
- Game 2: Heat at Cavaliers | Wednesday, April 23, 7:30 p.m. | NBA TV
- Game 3: Cavaliers at Heat | Saturday, April 26, TBD | TNT
- Game 4: Cavaliers at Heat | Monday, April 28, TBD | TBD
- Game 5: Heat at Cavaliers | Wednesday, April 30, TBD | TBD *
- Game 6: Cavaliers at Heat | Friday, May 2, TBD | TBD *
- Game 7: Heat at Cavaliers | Sunday, May 4, TBD | TBD *
Cleveland Cavaliers Head Coach
Kenny Atkinson takes over as head coach, arriving from Golden State, where he was an assistant coach. He was the head coach of the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-17 through 2019-20. Atkinson turned in the best online betting season of his career this year.
Cleveland Cavaliers Key Players
PG Darius Garland scored 20.6 points and 6.7 assists per contest this year. Previously, the Cavaliers selected him 5th overall in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Vanderbilt. He is a two-time All-Star, including this year.
This season, PF Evan Mobley averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. The Cavs selected him third overall in the 2021 NBA Draft out of USC. Also, he is a first-time NBA All-Star this year.
Donovan Mitchell is a 6-time NBA All-Star. This year, Mitchell averaged 24.0 points per game. Mitchell is an NBA All-Star this year. Previously, Mitchell led the Cavs with 26.6 points and 6.1 assists per game last year. In the 2024 NBA Playoffs, Mitchell averaged 29.6 points and 4.7 assists.
Last season, C Jarrett Allen added 16.5 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. Allen was a 2022 NBA All-Star. In the playoffs, he averaged 17.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game. In 2024-25, Allen averaged 13.5 points and 9.7 rebounds per game.
Cleveland Cavaliers Record, Metrics & History
In sum, Cleveland’s NBA metrics were first for scoring offense, second for field goal percentage, second for 3-point field goal percentage, 17th for free throw percentage, and sixth for offensive rebounding. While on defense, the Cavaliers’ metrics were 14th for scoring defense, third for field goal percentage permitted, 13th for 3-point field goal percentage allowed, and 11th for defensive rebounding.
The Cleveland Cavaliers finished with a regular season record of 64-18 straight up, 48-33-1 against the spread, and 51-31 over/under the NBA betting total. As a result, Cleveland was first in the Eastern Conference playoff standings, three games behind the Boston Celtics.
Cleveland knocked off the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals. Finally, they gave the city its first major sports title in decades, leading to widespread joy in the streets. Following the 2018 season, LeBron James left Cleveland. Also, Kyrie Irving moved on from the Cavaliers. That led the franchise to bottom out once more. That put the Cavaliers back in the lottery.