CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Cavaliers will face the New York Knicks in the first round of the 2023 NBA Playoffs.
On Wednesday, the NBA released the entire schedule for the best-of-seven series. The schedule is as follows:
- Game 1 (Cavs lost 101-97): Saturday, April 15, 6 p.m. ET at Cleveland (Bally Sports Ohio and ESPN)
- Game 2 (Cavs won 107-90): Tuesday, April 18, 7:30 p.m. ET at Cleveland (TNT)
- Game 3 (Cavs lost 99-79): Friday, April 21, 8:30 p.m. ET at New York (ABC)
- Game 4: Sunday, April 23, 1 p.m. ET at New York (ABC)
- Game 5 (if necessary): Wednesday, April 26 at Cleveland (time TBD)
- Game 6 (if necessary): Friday, April 28 at New York (time TBD)
- Game 7 (if necessary): Sunday, April 30 at Cleveland (time TBD)
The Cavs enter their first-round series vs. the Knicks after compiling a 51-31 regular-season record -- the fourth-best in the Eastern Conference. In doing so, Cleveland made the playoffs for the first time since LeBron James' free agency departure in 2018 -- and for the first time without James on its roster since the 1997-98 campaign.
New York, meanwhile, enters the playoffs as the Eastern Conference's No. 5 seed after amassing a 47-35 regular-season record. The Knicks' playoff appearance marks their second in the past three seasons, after New York failed to qualify for the postseason with a 37-45 record in the 2021-22 campaign.
There will be no shortage of storylines when it comes to the first-round series between the Cavs and Knicks, most notably, the presence of Cleveland's All-Star shooting guard, Donovan Mitchell. While New York was the team most consistently linked to the former Utah Jazz star as he hit the trade market last offseason, it was the Cavs who ultimately acquired the Louisville product, who has turned in an All-NBA caliber debut season in Cleveland.
The Knicks, meanwhile, have benefitted from a bounce-back season from All-Star forward Julius Randle, the signing of point guard Jalen Brunson and a trade deadline deal to acquire guard Josh Hart. As for the betting odds, the Cavs are currently a six-point favorite to win Game 1, with the series price set at Cleveland (-240) and New York (+200).
