Cavaliers to face Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals

The Cleveland Cavaliers finally know who they are going to play in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Boston Celtics beat the Washington Wizards 115-105 in Game 7 of their series Monday night in Boston to advance. Because the Celtics are the No. 1 seed in the East, Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals will take place Wednesday in Boston. Tipoff is at 8:30 p.m. on TNT.

Game 2 is Friday, May 19 in Boston, Game 3 is Sunday, May 21 in Cleveland and Game 4 is next Tuesday, May 23 in Cleveland. Game 5 would take place on May 25 if necessary with Games 6 and scheduled for May 27 and May 29, respectively. All tipoffs are currently scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and all games will air on TNT.

Cleveland will enter the series coming off 10 days of rest after sweeping the Toronto Raptors in the second round. To date, the Cavs are 8-0 in the playoffs with sweeps of the Raptors and Indiana Pacers.

In the regular season, the Cavs went 3-1 against the Celtics. Cleveland won the last meeting between the two teams on April 5 in Boston. The Celtics’ lone win against the Cavs took place on March 1 in Boston.

The two teams last met in the the first round of the 2014-15 playoffs with the Cavs sweeping the Celtics. The series, though, got chippy after Kelly Olynyk popped out Kevin Love’s shoulder while battling for a rebound in Game 1. From there, J.R. Smith struck Jae Crowder in the face in Game 4 and was suspended. Then Cavalier Kendrick Perkins also got into it with Crowder during the series’ final game.

Even if the Cavs come out slow or rusty in Game 1, they should still be the favorites. Although the defense still needs to the tightened up, Cleveland has been dominant so far. It’s on Boston to prove that the Eastern Conference Finals won’t be more of the same.