CLEVELAND — The last time the Cleveland Cavaliers played in the Eastern Conference Finals, they were led there by LeBron James in 2018, the last year of that era of Cavs. Since then, the Cavs have been rebuilding and retooling, looking to get back to championship contention and now, after closing out the series with the Detroit Pistons, they're as far as they've been to that level in the past eight years.
Until their 125-94 blowout win of the Pistons in Game 7.
Since 2022, when the Cavs made the blockbuster trade to acquire Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs have been in the playoffs each year, but with one first-round exit and back-to-back second-round eliminations. After their loss in the Eastern Conference Semifinals last season against the Indiana Pacers, the Cavs set out to get over the hump. The goal was to make it past the second round, at least. It's why they made another blockbuster trade this year, sending DeAndre Hunter to the Kings to acquire Dennis Schröder and Keon Ellis and Darius Garland to the Clippers to acquire James Harden.
It was a move the Cavs felt could aid the other members of the Core Four—Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen—to a deep playoff run.
"We certainly had, from an internal process, we had to sit down, really discuss this opportunity. Was this the right time? And get to a place where we all felt comfortable doing it. So, really, opportunity sort of raised its hand and we evaluated the opportunity and realized this gives us a chance to win. That's the ultimate goal, is to try to get to a conference finals, a finals, and win a championship," Cavs' president of basketball operations Koby Altman said at the NBA trade deadline in February.
After a physically demanding seven-game series in the first round against the Toronto Raptors, the Cavs were battle-tested once again against the No. 1-seeded Pistons. After dropping Games 1 and 2 on the road, the Cavs returned for Games 3 and 4 in Rocket Arena and got the wins they needed to even the series. Then, back in Detroit for Game 5, the Cavs did something they hadn't done all playoffs and won on the road.
On Friday, in Cleveland for Game 6 and a chance to close out the series and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavs started off on rocky footing. In the first quarter alone, the Cavs turned the ball over seven times, resulting in nine of the Pistons' points. By halftime, the Cavs had 13 turnovers, resulting in 17 points for the Pistons. Taking care of the ball has been an issue for the Cavs, who entered Game 6 with a whopping 199 turnovers. It was a trend that led to their first loss at home in the postseason, sending the Cavs and Pistons to a Game 7.
So on Sunday night, facing elimination, the Cavs took the court inside Little Caesars Arena.
Before the game, the Cavs addressed the need to start the game off aggressively.
"I feel like on the road [in Game 5], we were the aggressors. I think on the road, for anybody in the NBA, you have to be the aggressors. You have to be the first one to make the first punch and not make mistakes towards the end. You have to be super solid," Allen said
And the Cavs came out hot. They took an early lead and never looked back. From the starters to the role players, the Cavs were effective on both sides of the floor and took Game 7 in a dominant fashion.
Mitchell led the Cavs with 26 points, eight assists and seven rebounds, while Sam Merrill led off the bench with an impressive 23 points.
The Cavs advance to take on a familiar foe in the New York Knicks, who advanced after sweeping the Philadelphia 76ers in the second round.
