Cavs Aiming to Secure Fourth Seed, Officially, Against Knicks

All you need to know about this one is the Cavaliers can officially clinch the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The task: Beat the visiting Knicks.

Granted, center Jarrett Allen (groin) is doubtful and forward/guard Isaac Okoro is out, but the Cavs were in a similar situation the other night in Atlanta and almost won. (Related dribbles.)

Cleveland will also still have an advantage since Knicks All-Star power forward Julius Randle is out for at least the next two weeks with a sprained ankle.

If the playoffs started today, the Cavs would indeed face the Knicks in the first round. Barring something strange, that will indeed be the case once the actual postseason gets here.

The Cavs (48-29) are highly likely to finish second in the Central Division and fourth in the East. The Knicks (44-33) are up 2.5 games over the Nets for fifth in the conference. They could still blow it without Randle, but with time running out, only need to win another game or two to secure their position.

So does this game actually mean something? Well, yes, a little. There’s really no sense in the Cavs landing the third seed, and they probably can’t catch the 76ers, anyway. But they do want to get securing fourth out of the way.

They can do that Friday night, so may as well handle their business.

Game Notes

• Guard/forward Caris LeVert and forward Lamar Stevens are listed as the starters in place of Allen and Okoro. Overall, the Cavs are 9-3 in their last 12.
• The Cavs’ win total is the most since the 2017-18 season and already four more than last year.
• LeVert has scored 10 or more points in eight of the last nine games and is averaging 157 points on 43 percent shooting since March 10. I keep saying the Cavs will need more from their role players and reserves to advance in the playoffs, and LeVert’s recent uptick is a promising sign.