CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers’ wait is nearly over.
With the conclusion of the 2025-26 NBA regular season, the Cavs learned on Sunday, April 12, they will face the Toronto Raptors in a best-of-seven series in the first round of the playoffs. The Cavs will have home-court advantage in the opening round, and Game 1 is set for 1 p.m. Saturday, April 18, at Rocket Arena.
The Cavs (52-30) are the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. The Raptors (46-36) are the fifth seed. Results on the final day of the regular season determined the Cavs’ Round 1 opponent will be the Raptors instead of the Atlanta Hawks. The Boston Celtics’ 113-108 win over the Orlando Magic sealed the outcome as Cavs players watched it in the locker room after their 130-117 victory against the Washington Wizards, a result with no bearing on playoff seeding.
Disappointment from the Cavs’ second-round playoff loss to the Indiana Pacers in 2025 has been festering for almost a year. The Cavs will soon begin their quest for redemption in earnest.
The Cavs went 0-3 in the regular season against the Raptors, but the most recent meeting between the two teams was Nov. 24.
“We got a week to prepare for [the Raptors],” Cavs wing Jaylon Tyson said. “Obviously, we played them early [in the season]. They got a really good squad. They got some length. We’re going into this week with a mindset that we’re gonna go get them, and that’s all you can do.”
Cavs scouting top Raptors players
Here are the Raptors’ starters with stats:
Other top Raptors players: center Sandro Mamukelashvili (11.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists), Collin Murray-Boyles (8.5 points, 5 rebounds, 1.9 assists), Jamal Shead (6.6 points, 1.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists) and Ja’Kobe Walter (7.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1 steal)
Cavs vs. Raptors matchup by the numbers
Here is where the Cavs and Raptors rank in some key categories:
Cavs went 0-3 against Raptors in regular season
Here are the results from Cavs versus Raptors in the regular season:
“Toronto, we know that’s no picnic, right?” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson said. “They low-key dominated us for the games we played them this year. So, we just have a lot of respect.”
Since those matchups in the fall, the Cavs have transformed, most notably because they traded Darius Garland to the Los Angeles Clippers for fellow point guard James Harden shortly before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. The Cavs also acquired backup guards Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Sacramento Kings in exchange for De’Andre Hunter.
“Post-trade deadline, we’re a better team than we were pre-trade [deadline],” Atkinson said. “The front office did an amazing job adding the pieces we added. We’re a better team, so therefore it gives us a better chance to improve on what we did last year and what we’ve done the last three years.
“Adding James Harden helps a lot with that confidence, quite honestly. Top-10 player of all time. His addition has given us a confidence. We’re a more mature ballclub. I keep saying that. Maturity and poise I think wins in the playoffs. And then IQ. I think we’re a higher IQ team.”
Toronto Raptors’ transition offense has Cavs on alert
Atkinson said Cleveland’s transition defense will be crucial because he expects Toronto to lean on its identity by pushing the pace. In last year’s playoffs, the Cavs fell in the Eastern Conference semifinals largely because they were run off the floor by the Pacers.
“Their speed [stands out], and then they turn you over,” Atkinson said of the Raptors. “So, they’re really good at that. Brandon Ingram’s a high-level player, high-level scorer, but really they’ve done it as a group this year.”
The Cavs have spent much of this season trying to gear up for the type of challenge the Pacers presented last year.
“We’re going to be tested, not just the physicality, but the fitness, the fitness race,” Atkinson said. “[We] struggled last year with it. [We’ll] see if we’ve improved.”
Cavs schedule. When do playoffs start NBA?
The top six teams in each of the NBA’s two conferences at the end of regular season automatically qualify for the playoffs. The teams placing seventh through 10th compete in the Play-In Tournament for the final two playoff seeds.
The Play-In Tournament is slated to run from April 14-17. The playoffs are slated to begin April 18.
The Cavs will host Game 1 of their first-round series April 18.
Who will the Cavaliers play in second round if they advance in NBA playoff bracket?
The winner of the Cavs-Raptors series will advance to face the winner of the series between the top-seeded Detroit Pistons (60-22) and whichever team earns the East’s No. 8 seed in the NBA Play-in Tournament.
The fourth seed is widely considered a good position for the Cavs because they are on the opposite side of the bracket from the No. 2 Boston Celtics (56-26) and No. 3 New York Knicks (53-29). The Cavs could not face the Celtics or Knicks earlier than the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Cavs view a matchup with the Pistons as favorable to Cleveland.
Cleveland Cavaliers’ recent playoff history
This is the fourth consecutive season the Cavs have made the playoffs.
Here are the results from their previous three playoff appearances:
The Akron Beacon Journal sports department can be contacted via email at bjsports@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cavs playoffs are here. Cavaliers will face Raptors in first round
Reporting by Nate Ulrich, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
