Cleveland Cavaliers 2010 NBA Playoffs: Potential First-Round Matchup

With just 10 games left in the NBA regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers seem to have cemented themselves atop the league standings.

They lead the Orlando Magic by seven games for homecourt advantage in the Eastern Conference, and lead the L.A. Lakers by three-and-a-half games for homecourt in the Finals.

Winners of eight in a row and 14 of their last 15, Zydrunas Ilgauskas back in the rotation, and Shaquille O'Neal healing nicely from his thumb injury and maintaining healthy conditioning , the Cavs are getting close to 100 percent just in time for the April playoff push.

And while the world is waiting for the second round showdown with Atlanta or Boston (hell, you have to throw Milwaukee in that mix with the way they're playing now), and a juicy, potential ECF rematch with the Magic, there's still that pesky order of dispatching their first round foe.

As we saw in 1994 with the Nuggets and Sonics, or perhaps more famously in 2007 with the Warriors and Mavericks , a bad matchup can lead to the ultimate disaster for a No. 1 seed.

So, who are the teams in the East that the Cavs could draw in the first round? Could any of them potentially pose problems or expose flaws in Cleveland's armor?

Let's take a look at four possible first round matchups for the Cavs, from least likely to occur to most likely.

Chicago Bulls (33-38)

Just kidding Bulls fans. Your 30-point debacle at home against the Heat last night sealed your lottery fate.

Miami Heat (38-34)

A few weeks ago, I brazenly predicted the Heat would use a long homestand to vault themselves up the standings and nab the sixth seed.

They've done just that, winning nine of their last 12 to move up to sixth in the East (of course, I also predicted the Raptors would finish fifth and the Bulls would make the playoffs...and that's not working out too well).

Miami has upped their intensity on the defensive end during their streak, giving up just 89 points per game in the last 10 contests.

Wade has been his usual dominant self, but it's been the contribution of role players that have the Heat so hot (get it??).

Jermaine O'Neal has put up double figures in 15 of his last 16 games, averaging 16.5 points per game in that span (and the one game he didn't hit double digits, he only played 11 minutes and left with a knee injury).

Udonis Haslem has had 10-plus rebounds off the bench six times already this month.

And the artist formerly known as Quentin Richardson has been a legit outside threat of late, hitting at least two three-pointers in a game 10 times in March.

Still, the Heat just don't match up well with Cleveland at all. They don't have an explosive, high scoring point guard that could give Mo Williams trouble defensively.

They don't have a dominant, low post threat at center that would force the Cavs to double-team (J. O'Neal has played well, but he's more of a finesse shooter than a low post banger).

Nevertheless, a first round matchup between LeBron and Wade appears less likely each day. The Heat have key games remaining at Milwaukee (tonight) and versus Toronto (Sunday), but none of their April opponents have a record above .500, meaning it should be smooth sailing for D-Wade and Co. to get a first round meeting with Boston or Atlanta.

Charlotte Bobcats (37-34)

The Bobcats are one of the hottest teams in the East and I, for one, couldn't be happier about it.

While I originally hoped they would fade and miss the postseason, now I'm hoping they stay hot and keep themselves on the No. 6/No. 7 line and stay away from Cleveland.

The Bobcats are just a bad matchup for Cleveland. They are well-coached and can control the pace of the game with their defense.

Raymond Felton turns into Gary Payton Jr. whenever he sees the Cavs; his defense on Cavs PGs is always lockdown, and he seemingly shoots like 80 percent against them (actually, it's only 52.2 percent this year—still, that's pretty high for a career 40 percent shooter).

Captain Jack is a tough cover for the Cavs shooting guards. Earlier this season, he just abused Anthony Parker (who is no slouch on defense) in the low post, and can do the same against Delonte West

On the flip side, Jackson and Gerald Wallace are good covers for LeBron James. They're physical enough to push LeBron around (as best as anyone can do, at least), and Jackson has playoff experience guarding bigger, athletic forwards. Remember, he's the one that shut down Dirk Nowitzki in the aforementioned 2007 Mavs-Warriors series and made him a non-factor.

And the overall length and athleticism of the Bobcats (particularly Wallace and Tyrus Thomas) has just seemed to bother Cleveland in the regular season meetings. Charlotte had 10 blocked shots in the February 19 game, and altered countless others.

Granted, it was the first game the Cavs played with Antawn Jamison in the rotation, and he put the up the worst offensive game of his career (0-12 FG, 2 pts).

Still, the Bobcats went 3-0 against Cleveland since acquiring Jackson. Only they and Denver can boast winning records against the Cavs this year.

I'm not saying that Charlotte would win a playoff series; I still think the Cavs have too many pieces and would grind out a win, but it would be a lot harder and much more intense then a first round series should be for a 60-plus win team.

That being said, I'm just going to keep rooting for Charlotte to stay out of that No. 8 spot.

Toronto Raptors (35-35)

The NBA Playoffs are a lot like the NCAA Tournament (you know, aside from the one-and-done format, and the two games in four days instead of four games in two weeks): You want to play a team that's on a downslide instead of a team that's gaining momentum.

Case in point: Kentucky, Kansas State, Butler, West Virginia, and St. Mary's were on fire coming into the tournament, and they're still playing.

Villanova, Syracuse, Vanderbilt, and Wisconsin weren't, and they're sitting at home.

If you bring this back to the NBA, Charlotte is hot right now. Toronto is not. Hence, wouldn't you probably rather play Toronto?

The Raptors are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, giving up 105.8 points per game (behind only Phoenix, Minnesota, and Golden State). Against a team with so many offensive weapons like the Cavs, that could spell trouble.

Toronto does have Hedo Turkoglu, also known as "The Guy I Never Want to See in the Playoffs Again, Ever." But this year, he doesn't have Dwight Howard dominating down low and Rashard Lewis burying every three-pointer he throws up.

However, there could be a few things the Cavs have to look out for in this series.

First, they'll probably be trying to work Shaq back into the lineup when this series starts. He won't be in game shape (though he is in good physical shape overall), and against a team like Toronto that likes to spread the floor with athletic bigs that can shoot, it's not exactly a premier time to get him back in the system.

The second is complacency. Against the Raps this year, the Cavs have been all too content to just play Toronto's game, taking quick shots, not rotating well defensively, playing games in the 100s instead of in the 90s, and relying on simply playing defense in the fourth quarter (and overtime of one game) to win.

In the playoffs, Cleveland must avoid defensive letdowns at all costs. They have to play with the same rigor and focus that they typically reserve for games against Boston, Orlando, Atlanta, and L.A.

To me, the Cavs just have too much talent and leadership to have a first round disaster this year. LeBron is shifting into playoff mode, the role players are starting to play exceptionally well, and having a championship presence in Shaq in the locker room will keep this team level-headed.

There's one goal for the Cavs this year and to get there, they have to go one series at a time.

For the first round at least, that shouldn't be a problem.