Cavs end regular season with loss to Knicks, look ahead to Playoff matchup with Pacers; three takeaways

3. How did we get here?

No really, it’s a valid question. From trades, to injuries, this team has been through the gauntlet all year.

According to Lue, the most challenging part of the 2017-18 season for the Cavs was having to change their offense “four or five times” in total. And while the Cavs have been to three straight NBA Finals, only four guys (LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith) remain from their 2016 championship run.

Ty Lue says the most challenging aspect of the season was changing the offense four or five times pic.twitter.com/LFpWxXRNAF

— Ashley Bastock (@AshleyBastock42) April 12, 2018

But if history is any indication, the playoffs are a baptism by fire that the new Cavaliers are going to have to undergo.

“The best teacher in life is experience,” James said. “Once they get out on the floor and get that energy and see what it’s all about, I think the basketball genes will kind of take over from there.”

“You don’t know what you don’t know right?,” Larry Nance Jr., who will be playing in his first postseason, said. “I just gotta go off of what my teammates tell me, expect every possession to matter, and really just play my heart out.”

But in the end, no matter the amount of drama that has surrounded the Cleveland Cavaliers this year, they are now heading to the second season and are in position to go to their fourth straight NBA Finals.

“We’re one of the 16 teams that have a chance to win a championship,” James said, “so that’s all you can ask for.”

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