Cavs have 97.3 percent odds to officially claim East’s top seed

In case you’re worried about whether the Cavaliers will hold on to the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference … well, it’s OK. This is Cleveland, after all.

But you should also know that the Cavs (60-15) are all but a shoo-in for that top spot with just seven games to go. Granted, the reigning champion Boston Celtics (56-19) have won nine straight and may not lose again.

Boston’s schedule in these final two weeks is laughably easy. It consists of three straight home games against Miami, Phoenix and Washington, followed by road games at Orlando and New York. Then the Celtics wrap up the regular season with back-to-back home games against tanking and generally terrible Charlotte.

Meanwhile, the Cavs face New York at home, San Antonio on the road, Sacramento and Chicago at home, and Indiana and New York on the road, before ending the regular season with a home date against the Pacers.

In order for the Cavaliers to lose their grip on the East’s top spot, they would need to lose at least four of those final seven — assuming the Celtics win out.

That gives Cleveland a 97.3 percent chance of finishing with the top spot, according to Basketball Reference’s playoff probabilities. (For the record, they can finish no worse than second.) A home win against the Knicks on Wednesday would only increase those odds.

Either way, coach Kenny Atkinson strongly suggested the Cavs aren’t overly concerned with much more beyond the next game.

“The first priority is playing well and having everybody healthy (for the playpoffs),” Atkinson said. “If the No. 1 seed comes with that …” 

Well, then that’s just the feather in the cap of a banner season. And if the Cavs do the things Atkinson mentioned, that top Eastern spot for the playoffs will indeed be theirs. As it should be.