NBA Playoffs 2017 Begin April 15; Rough Road to Finals Lies Ahead for Cleveland

By Edward Leano, Christian Post Contributor Friday, April 14, 2017

Defending champs Cleveland Cavaliers will have a rough road to the finals, let alone make it through the playoffs, according to early predictions. LeBron James claims to have the answer to turning things around for the troubled team. The National Basketball Association (NBA) 2017 Playoffs will begin the first round on Saturday, April 15.

The Cleveland Cavaliers have all the talent they needed to win the championship last year, of course, starting with LeBron James. The defending champs, however, look far away from playoffs-ready form as the team hobbled into a second seed in the playoffs, ending the regular season with a record of 10 wins and 14 losses since the start of March. As Sporting News noted, this slump was more than enough for the team to give up the top seed in the Eastern Conference to the Boston Celtics.

Asked about the recent poor performance of the team, James replied, "I've got the answer. I'm not giving it to you," during a post-practice interview, via Cleveland.com. "But I've got the answer why I feel like we've got a great chance," James affirmed Cavalier fans everywhere.

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As the playoffs start with the first round this coming weekend, the Cavaliers will face seventh-seed Indiana Pacers in Cleveland, while top-seed Boston Celtics match up against eight-seed Chicago Bulls. For the rest of the Eastern conference, fourth-seed Washington Wizards will go against fifth-seed Atlanta Hawks, while third-seed Toronto Raptors square off against the Milwaukee Bucks at number six.

At the Western Conference, number one Golden State Warriors face eighth-seed Portland Trailblazers, while number four Los Angeles Clippers battle fifth-seed Utah Jazz. Second-seed San Antonio Spurs will duke it out with number seven Memphis Grizzlies, and third-seed Houston Rockets take on sixth-place Oklahoma City Thunder.

Watch the video below of Cleveland Cavaliers' James explaining why he thinks the team has a good chance at winning the title.