The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic in Game 7 of their first-round series to advance to the second round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Since the 1993 NBA Playoffs, which took place 31 years ago, the Cavaliers have not advanced to the Conference Semi-Finals without LeBron James.

With LeBron on the team, the Cavaliers have only posed a serious threat in the last 30 years of their existence. They qualified for the playoffs for the first time this year without James, marking their first postseason appearance in more than 20 years. They have improved little by one round this year.

In the 2018 NBA Playoffs, the Cavaliers made their last round appearance after sweeping the Raptors. With James in the lineup, the team made it to the NBA Finals that season and advanced through the playoffs with an average of 34.0 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists.

The Cavaliers’ final trip to the second round without James concluded in a sweep at the hands of the Chicago Bulls, led by Michael Jordan, in 1993.

Although he may not be as good as LeBron James, Donovan Mitchell has repeatedly shown throughout his career that he is the best option in the postseason. In this series, he averaged 28.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. In Games 6 and 7, he scored 89 points to guarantee the Cavaliers would defeat the inexperienced and youthful Magic team.

The Cavaliers are about to engage in a deadly game.The Cavaliers have won the right to face the Boston Celtics in the second round of the playoffs for their valiant series victory. With 65 regular season victories, the Celtics became the most dominant team in the NBA. They defeated the Miami Heat 4-1 in their first-round meeting. They outperformed everyone else in the East by 14 games, demonstrating how much of an odd matchup this contest appears to be.

The Cavaliers’ mediocre offense will be outscored by the Celtics even if Mitchell keeps up his amazing scoring rate. Although their defense has been their strongest suit, Jarrett Allen’s availability for the second round is still in doubt after he missed Game 7. In any case, to stay with Boston, the Cavaliers will require several strong performances from the guys on their roster.

The Cavaliers are designed with a combination of excellent defenders who might be allocated to that matchup to limit the output of wings like Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. However, this can put players like Darius Garland in danger defensively if they depend too much on defensive output to win games. Excellent defense is frequently surpassed by superior shooting in the age of the 3-pointer, something Boston has made a signature of their success this season.

The Cavaliers have taken the proactive measures that may help them persuade Donovan Mitchell to stay, even if their season ends. But Mitchell has had to carry the club to victory in order to maintain their competitiveness, and this postseason run may further solidify his opinion that he should join a team that can provide him with better teammates.