Cleveland

Advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals after defeating the Detroit Pistons.

“... and the two swaps. And I think now you have to look at it as you paid full freight, but here you are in the Conference Finals with, like, a Knicks team that I think is gonna be the favorite. I will pick them to win the series, but they're not unbeatable. B…”

The primary focus of the discussion regarding their playoff series and future roster moves.

“... about what would happen. I was really excited about some of this. I, I wrote down in all caps, "LeBron is looming." I think we can close the door now for the LeBron comes back to Cleveland, um, "Hey guys, I'm a former champ, I'm here to help." I think that…”

Successfully advanced after a seven-game series, showing resilience despite inconsistent offensive performance.

“W- Wade was not bringing enough defensively to really justify it. I thought they could've reorganized their rotation a bit. But this is what happens in the playoffs, man. You shrink your rotation, you gotta stretch for answers. These are, this is, you know, th…”

The team's performance and potential as a playoff threat are analyzed.

“First place MVP votes. Yeah. So I have a lot of Knicks fans in my life. I know you have even more. And they've been asking me for two weeks, who, who do I wanna play? Do I wanna play the Cavs or the Pistons? And my answer, at least for the last week, is you're…”

The Knicks' opponent in the upcoming series, viewed as a formidable team.

“... amount of film study or whatever that I'm doing tomorrow that is gonna make me pick the Cavs. I'm picking the Knicks. It's just a matter of how many games.”

The team is the opponent for the Knicks in the upcoming playoff series.

“Plus 190 for the Cavs. You win that one.”

Discussed as a team currently in a competitive window that has historically struggled to reach the finals.

“So one thing I was thinking about with the Knicks and the Cavs, and it's, it's off of Minnesota falling short in their series about these little windows that teams have. The, the can't-get-over-the-hump teams. The teams that they win a few playoff series, they…”

Discussed in the context of their playoff series against the Knicks and potential roster changes.

“So who are the other Hail Mary teams, then? I guess you could say if Cleveland gets annihilated by the Knicks, maybe they're in that zone, but-”

Mentioned in the context of the 2016 NBA Finals and the 2018 season where LeBron had limited support.

“... number two, the 2016 NBA finals, w- 73 win Warriors, LeBron and the Cavs, just the, the se-”

The hosts analyze their playoff performance and criticize their lineup choices.

“It's a wei- it's a weird one 'cause I don't feel like Cleveland's playing the right lineups. Now, granted, I'm a guy on my couch in LA, [laughs] you know, and I'm not, not spending every minute with the team. But, like, unless Sam Merrill's hurt, I don't under…”

Discussed as having a free throw advantage and playing with high offensive energy against Detroit.

“I mean, there was a d- a huge discrepancy in free throws. I think Cleveland shot like 22 more free throws last night than Detroit did. Um-”

Proposed as a potential destination for LeBron to finish his career.

“left, two max." Um, and I'm not trying to count his money, but, like, like, I mean, there's only but so much time we can do this for, right? [laughs] So, like, like winning a championship, um, you know, how much are you willing to sacrifice in terms of, you kn…”

Evaluated as a potential destination for LeBron James.

“Um, but no, I, uh, s- like, the Cleveland aspect to me is, is fascinating, right? 'Cause on one hand, you're right, it is, in theory, easier to get to the finals, um, if you're in the Eastern Conference. Um, and we're gonna talk about Cleveland in a minute, an…”

The team is currently tied 2-2 in their playoff series against the Pistons.

“Yeah, but I mean, like, I, I don't, I don't know that we're turning a corner when you're asking, like, the four to beat the one. Um, like, that's not supposed to happen usually. [laughs] Like, there's a reason one of them was the number one team in the Eastern…”

Discussed in the context of their series against Detroit.

“And it takes your role players out as well, right? Because they're constantly having to, you know, help you out by getting the ball out of the double team, and it just messes up the flow of an offense, right? Like, um, so we'll see what happens. Uh, we kinda t…”

Proposed as a homecoming destination where LeBron James is viewed as a godlike figure.

“you know what LeBron James has been through, watching the Los Angeles Lakers shoot three-pointers this year? Are you kidding me? I mean, the level of cruelty that he was subjected to, having to watch that stuff, the only thing... I mean, that's why him and JJ …”

Noted for struggling significantly in road games during the post-season.

“Yeah. Uh, the good news for the Pistons is that they are the one seed and it has to go through Detroit because the Cleveland Cavaliers have been horrific on the road. 0 and 5 so far in the post-season.”

They evened their playoff series against the Pistons.

“You know? The point is, even if it was something to him, as long as you didn't suspend him for the game, you could've made up for it to some degree by giving him a stiff financial penalty. Right. You could've done that. The fact that the league didn't even do …”

The team won Game 7 and advanced in the playoffs.

“And we have an awesome interview with Coach Belichick coming up, but before that, Game 7, the Cleveland Cavaliers advance. We're actually recording this while the fourth quarter's going on, so let me check the score real quick. It was-”

The hosts discuss the Cavs' performance and their upcoming playoff series against the Knicks.

“It's... I mean, the, the Cavs... We were s- we were having this discussion last week when we were asking Meems who he wants to play, and he wanted to play the Cavs? He wanted to play the Cavs.”

The team playing against Detroit in the playoffs, noted for their size and defensive intensity.

“I mean, there aren't too many teams with double bigs, um, with the, the size and length and everything, uh, of, of the Cavaliers either. Maybe Duren just had to figure out how to navigate the Jarrett Allen, Evan Mobley tangle. Um-”

Discussed regarding their potential to win the series against Detroit.

“What's your concern level that, um, the Cavs are just gonna fumble the bag again? Like, like w- are, are you scared of this? Are you... I feel like we've seen this movie before.”

Discussed regarding their struggle to close out a series at home.

“Uh, let's take a quick break. I wanna talk about the Cavs and the Pistons. Cavs had a chance to, you know, end this series at home. We talked about on the previous segment how the Spurs showed championship acumen, um, and put a team away on the road. Um, and, …”

Discussed as a strong team in the postseason with high scoring averages at home.

“I love, uh, Cavaliers this postseason. Home six and 0, 118 points per game. Woo. That's a lot of points.”

Suggested as a place where LeBron James could have his jersey retired.

“Here, that's why this, I feel like LeBron would be cool. 'Cause may- maybe they don't do that, but I mean, if when he goes back to Cleveland they retire 23 while he's still playing, I feel like that would be cool if they haven't already.”

The team Donovan Mitchell plays for.

“But then second team to... So you're a nine-time All-Defense, 12-team All-Star, 11-team All-NBA, and a man who's been spectacular for us on this program through the playoffs. We appreciate the hell out of you. Let's dive right into this. CP's top three of what…”

Suggested as a potential team for LeBron James to play for in the future.

“Go back to the Cavs for another year.”

A potential future opponent for the Knicks in the playoffs.

“So yeah, and then Cleveland could be tricky. Cleveland's kind of nice.”

Discussed regarding their ability to win on the road in the series against the Pistons.

“The Cavs can't win on the road. Until now.”