2023 NBA first-round playoff preview

The Eastern Conference’s fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and fifth-seeded New York Knicks meet in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs. The two franchises haven’t faced off in the postseason since 1996 — a best-of-five series in which, as luck would have it, the fifth-seeded Knicks swept the favored Cavs, 3-0.

More Yahoo Sports NBA first-round playoff previews:

(2) Memphis Grizzlies vs. (7) Los Angeles Lakers

(3) Sacramento Kings vs. (6) Golden State Warriors

(4) Phoenix Suns vs. (5) Los Angeles Clippers

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Atlanta Hawks

(3) Philadelphia 76ers vs. (6) Brooklyn Nets

How they got here

Cleveland Cavaliers (51-31)

By swinging one of the most ambitious trades of last offseason — and watching it pay immediate dividends.

The Cavs were one of the best stories of the first half of the 2021-22 season, riding a funky and futuristic jumbo frontcourt — center Jarrett Allen, No. 3 draft pick Evan Mobley, stretch 4-turned-big wing Lauri Markkanen — and an All-Star breakout from point guard Darius Garland to within two games out of the East’s top spot as late as mid-February. From there, though, the accumulated weight of injuries — season-enders for Collin Sexton and Ricky Rubio early in the season, brutally timed absences for Allen, Mobley and reserve forward Dean Wade in March — effectively scuttled their season.

After a 9-16 close to the season, including a pair of losses in the play-in tournament in which they absolutely could not score when Garland was off the floor or the ball was blitzed out of his hands, Cleveland entered the summer knowing it had the foundation of a playoff team, but also knowing it needed something if it wanted to reach the next level.

Like, say, Donovan Mitchell. (Who, as you might recall, the Knicks wanted, too, which adds a whole ’nother level of spice to this matchup.)

Mitchell came at a dear cost — a package headlined by unprotected first-round draft picks in 2025, 2027 and 2029, plus the right to swap…