Game 1 Preview: Indiana Pacers at Cleveland Cavaliers

He was signed March 13 and the Cavs held a team option for next season, but they relinquished that right by waiving him.

However, as Cleveland prepares for a first-round series against the No. 7 seed Indiana Pacers, LeBron James is confident the team can find another gear for the postseason. It'd be a nice outcome - though the way the Cavs are playing, it may be worth it to take a shot at them as soon as possible before they reach peak playoff form.

The Cavaliers gave LeBron James the night off for rest, which weakened them, but Casey wasn't anxious about who was on the other team. They've been struggling of late, but they're still one of the best teams in this game and have one of the best players in the world. With key players healthy, the Cavaliers will likely return to their favorite starting lineup - Kyrie Irving at point guard, J.R. Smith at shooting guard, LeBron at small forward, Kevin Love at power forward, and Tristan Thompson at center.

Tavares gives Lue at least another big man to use if Thompson isn't 100 per cent or gets into foul trouble.

The Toronto Raptors finally won a game against the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers, with an eye toward four more in the playoffs.

Cleveland lost its grip on the 1-seed down the stretch of the season to the Boston Celtics, setting up a first round match-up with the seventh-seeded Pacers. He averaged 29.7 points in three games against the Cavs. "All the talking is over, what we can do and what we're going to do, it's here".

With the Celtics beating the Brooklyn Nets 114-105, the defeat dropped the Cavs one game behind Boston for first place in the conference. That's the most important thing to me, to this organization and to our team. Paul George has remained the one constant, making his fourth All-Star team in the last five years. Now the Playoffs are here and we have all 15 guys healthy.

The Cavaliers, 51-31, could have signed Jones sooner. The Cavs are just 16-14 against the western conference this season as a whole, and have not won a single road game against the west all season. They were bounced from the conference finals in 2013 and 2014 by James' Miami Heat teams.

CAVS RAID 905: The Cleveland Cavaliers made it more hard for the Raptors 905 to win a D-League championship.

"It's a new year and we've moved on to Milwaukee", he said.

Fully healthy entering the season after two years of dealing with knee issues, Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving had his most productive all-around season in the National Basketball Association, and it resulted in an All-Star start for the sixth-year pro.

Tavares and Jones logged some minutes against the Raptors. General manager David Griffin told reporters on Tuesday that James will miss the home game against the Raptors.

Last year's trip to the NBA Finals and remarkable comeback down 3-1 to the Golden State Warriors seems to prove that was indeed the case in 2016.