The Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics are on a collision course. They’re currently the two best teams in the Eastern Conference, and appear destined to do battle in the conference finals.
According to long-time NBA analyst Bill Simmons, the Cavaliers may have a slight edge over Boston in the postseason. Simmons believes Kenny Atkinson’s team is the hungrier roster, and that could be a difference-maker in a close series.
“I do wonder sometimes if hunger is the most underrated noun in sports, and that’s what worries me with Cleveland vs. Boston,” Simmons said. “Boston plays hard, Tatum plays hard every night, the team gives a s—t, but Cleveland hasn’t been there before and every guy on that team when they play the Celtics, it will be the most important 2 weeks of their life.”
Simmons continued.
“The Celtics can’t say the same and there’s that little edge of like Game 7 at home, Donovan Mitchell with like, holy s—t I could actually make the finals, this is my moment right now. The Celtics had that last year. Going back-to-back is really hard. The history of the NBA is this is the single hardest thing you can do in the NBA is winning the second time in a row”
Cleveland and Boston have split the season series between each other, both winning two of their meetings. As such, neither roster holds a mental advantage over the other.
Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell On Playoff Qualification
The Cavaliers have officially clinched their spot in the 2025 playoffs. However, Donovan Mitchell doesn’t believe that achievement is anything worth celebrating, instead, he sees it as the bare minimum for a team that has dominated all season long.
“This was an expectation,” Mitchell said after the Cavaliers secured a 112-107 victory over the Miami Heat. “Is it great that we did it in March? Yeah. But this is the bare minimum for us. I think a playoff berth is something that we’ve just come to be like, ‘This is who we are.’ Now it’s, can we be the one seed?”
Cleveland’s win over Miami is what officially secured their playoff qualification. Now, Atkinson’s team will continue to push forward as they look to sustain momentum throughout the final weeks of the regular season.
Cavaliers Remaining Humble Ahead of Postseason
During his postgame news conference following Cleveland’s win over Miami, Atkinson noted how his team are confident but not cocky. They know who they are and how they want to play, and they try to execute to the best of their ability on a possession-by-possession basis.
“We’re not a cocky team, but we kind of know [who we are],” Atkinson said. “We’re getting to the point where we show zero kind of trepidation or we don’t rush for the most part, and we get to what we want to get to.”
The Cavaliers are first in the NBA for offensive rating and seventh in defensive rating. Atkinson has developed the roster into a versatile two-way powerhouse. As such, Boston, or any other team in the league, will have a difficult time slowing the Cavaliers down.
However, Cleveland’s inexperience may not be the secret weapon Simmons believes it to be, but only time will tell. For now, Cavaliers fans will be excited at the prospect of a potential run to the NBA finals, regardless of who stands in front of them.
