Cavaliers playoff picture: Breaking down Cleveland's seeding scenarios in the 2024 NBA round

The Cavaliers will be in the 2023-24 NBA postseason. Whether they will participate in the play-in tournament remains to be seen.

Cleveland faltered for much of the season. It started with an 18-15 score and rumors of a trade for Donovan Mitchell were swirling. The Cavaliers then won 17 of 18 games and rose to second place in the Eastern Conference overall.

However, Cleveland again had to endure some problems later on. Between February 22 and April 7, the Cavs posted a 10-16 record, including a 121-84 rout of the Heat on March 24 and a blown 26-point lead over the Clippers on April 7.

Many of their problems stem from injuries. Mitchell, forward Evan Mobley and guard Darius Garland have all missed significant time this season, and Mitchell in particular has been given more opportunities to rest to stay healthy for the playoffs.

If the Cavaliers return to full health in the postseason, they have the potential to be a fearsome team in the playoffs.

Here's a look at what the Cavaliers' playoff picture could look like after the regular season ends.

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Cavaliers 2024 playoff scenarios

Cleveland is currently the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and has three games left. They are half a game behind the Knicks and one game ahead of the Pacers.

Theoretically, it is still possible that the Cavaliers end up in the play-in tournament, but that is unlikely. They would have to lose and either the 76ers or Heat (or both) would have to win to push Cleveland into the play-in. Based on both teams' records, Philadelphia could edge ahead of Cleveland, while the Heat would match the record and reach the tiebreaker with a 3-1 lead in the series.

As far as possible matchups go, Cleveland could end up playing several different teams. The Knicks, their current opponent, are a possible option. It's also possible the Cavaliers play the Magic, Pacers, 76ers or Heat. There's a chance Cleveland could get the No. 2 seed and play the top team in the play-in tournament, but that would require the Cavaliers to move past the Bucks, Magic and Knicks in the standings.

Of the teams Cleveland could get into a tie with, they would lose the tiebreaker with the Heat (1-3), Knicks (1-2), Magic (2-2, division leader) and are tied with the Bucks (2nd). -2), Pacers (1-2, one game left) and 76ers (2-2, conference record unfinished).

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2024 Cavaliers Rankings

The Cavaliers are currently the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference. They trail the No. 2 seed Bucks by 1.5 games and lead the No. 7 seed 76ers by two games.

Remaining Cavaliers schedule

Cleveland has three games remaining in the 2023-24 regular season. A matchup will have a significant impact on the tiebreaker. The other two will face teams that finished 13th in their respective conferences.

Every game takes place at home.

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?

With the start of the play-in tournament, there are now 10 teams that will make it to the NBA postseason in each conference. That's two-thirds of every conference that will have a chance to win a title by the end of the regular season.

This also means it is harder for the seventh and eighth seeds to win it all. The play-in tournament means that the teams seeded 7th through 10th will play for the final two spots and will not be automatically bid for the teams seeded 7th and 8th.

The matchups are high stakes as each match only lasts one game.

Round 1

• Game 1: #8 seeds at #7 seeds
• Game 2: #10 seeds at #9 seeds

round 2

• Game 3: Winner of Game 2 and loser of Game 1

The tournament begins with the number 7 seed hosting the number 8 seed. The winner of this game will receive a trip to the playoffs where they will face the number 2 seed. Numbers 9 and 10 also compete against each other and the loser is eliminated.

The team that loses Game 1 hosts the team that wins Game 2, and the winner of that team plays the number 1 seed in the first round of the playoffs.