The Cleveland Cavaliers still await their first-round opponent in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They’ll discover who they face by the end of Friday, April 18, when the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat battle for postseason qualification.

These doubts likely stem from the fact that the roster remains largely the same as last year when the Cavs lost in the second round to the Boston Celtics. Cleveland probably would’ve lost anyway, but they were without star guard Donovan Mitchell for the final two games of that series.

The Cavs had a big-picture plan to be fully healthy heading into the 2025 NBA Playoffs. The plan worked. As Cleveland returned to the practice floor Thursday afternoon, its first full session ahead of Sunday night’s first-round series opener against either Atlanta or Miami,