Former NBA Star Issues Head-Turning Playoff Outlook for Cleveland Cavaliers

The Cavaliers showed the NBA that even after their late-season slide they still are one of the two teams to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Mar 30, 2025; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Darius Garland (10) celebrates during the second half against the Los Angeles Clippers at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Cavaliers survived an impossibly tough schedule at the end of March that provided them their first dose of adversity. They experienced a four-game losing streak thanks to a road trip that had them play eight games in 12 days. Also, they had two back-to-backs in that stretch and by the end of it were running on fumes.

Former NBA star Lou Williams spoke out on Thursday in his “Run It Back Podcast,” and dropped a bold take about the Cavaliers and the Eastern Conference as a whole.

“It’s top-heavy in the East. It’s a two-team race,” he said.

After they were able to get some rest and get an actual practice in, they had a very important contest against the New York Knicks who are the third seed in the East.

The Cavs fought off a sluggish start that put them in a 15-point hole and they gradually climbed out of it before beating New York by 19 points. Cleveland flexed its muscles and showed the rest of the league that they are still here. 

Their win caught the attention of Williams who continued his praise.

“You got Orlando, Atlanta, Milwaukee, Detroit, (and) Indiana… none of these teams are going to have what’s needed to compete with the Cavaliers or the Celtics. The Knicks just showed it. They can’t even compete with them and they are in third place. There is an eight-game gap between them and Boston at number two.”

"Orlando, Milwaukee, Atlanta, Detroit, Indiana; none of these teams are gonna have what's needed to compete with the Cavaliers or Celtics. And the Knicks just showed it. They can't even compete with them."@TeamLou23 says Cleveland and Boston are bound to meetup in the ECF 👀 pic.twitter.com/VWLesqDKll

— Run It Back (@RunItBackFDTV) April 3, 2025

Cleveland has taken care of business against almost everyone in the NBA. They have big wins over every single team, but there is still work to be done. Until they become the champs, their incredible regular season is all for nothing. 

Williams thinks that it won’t be a challenge to the summit of the Eastern Conference, but once they are there the real fight begins.