Cavs steamrolling toward playoffs

The Cavaliers are officially a juggernaut.

Cleveland has won nine in a row and is a staggering 32-1 at Quicken Loans Arena. It has a 4½-game lead in the East over Boston, 5½ games over Orlando and 16 over Atlanta. OK, so the last one's irrelevant.

Is there anything left for the Cavs to get excited about within their conference? Well, how about a first-round opponent?

Six teams -- Chicago, Milwaukee, Charlotte, New Jersey, Indiana and New York -- are vying for the East's eighth playoff spot. Of those teams, only Chicago (an overtime win in January) and Indiana (a one-point win in February) can claim a victory over Cleveland this season.

So which team would the Cavs prefer to face?

New York probably sounds pretty good. Cleveland is 4-0 against the Knicks this season, including LeBron James' 52-point outburst at Madison Square Garden in February. Think the LeBron-to-N.Y. rumors can't get any worse? Or that New York-area reporters can't extract insinuations from James' every word? Try a weeklong series with nothing else to focus on.

(All stats and records are through Sunday.)

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