The Cavaliers opened their first-round playoff series against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday in Cleveland, with Game 1 set for 1 p.m. in a best-of-seven matchup between the Eastern Conference's fourth seed and fifth seed. Cleveland entered the series with a 52-30 record, while Toronto finished 46-36.
The first game was televised nationally by Prime Video, with the local radio call on WTAM 1100-AM and WMMS 100.7-FM. Game 2 was scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, April 20, on Peacock, Game 3 for 8 p.m. Thursday, April 23, on Prime Video, and Game 4 for 1 p.m. Sunday, April 26, on. If needed, Game 5 was set for Wednesday, April 29, and Game 6 for Friday, May 1, with times and networks still to be determined.
Before tipoff, Cleveland ruled out backup center Thomas Bryant because of a left calf strain. Bryant had missed the final four games of the regular season with the injury. Toronto listed Immanuel Quickley as questionable after a right hamstring strain that surfaced in the final days of the regular season. Quickley left the Raptors' April 12 finale against the Brooklyn Nets with tightness, and the team said on April 13 that medical imaging had shown a mild hamstring strain.
The series carried an edge because Toronto had beaten Cleveland 3-0 in the regular season, and all three of those losses came before the Cavaliers acquired James Harden in a blockbuster trade on Feb. 3. That change matters now, because Cleveland went into the postseason still trying to solve the same problem that followed it through the winter: turning a strong regular season into something sturdier when the games become harder and the margins smaller.
For the Raptors, Quickley's availability could shape how much pressure they can put on Cleveland from the start. For the Cavaliers, the opening game offered a chance to answer a simpler question that has hovered over the franchise for years — whether this group can make its home court and its higher seed count for something once the playoffs begin.