The Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Toronto Raptors 114-102 in Game 7 to advance to the 2nd round of the NBA playoffs. The Cavs will play the Detroit Pistons who will have the home court advantage after posting the best record in the Eastern Conference for the #1 seed. #4 seeded Cleveland did finish 4-0 at Rocket Arena vs. Toronto. Jarrett Allen had a monster Game 7 vs. the Raptors, with 20 points, 15 rebounds, several blocked shots, and a resounding dunk in the 2nd half that energized the home fans.

Detroit had to survive a 7 game battle with the Orlando Magic, including coming back from a 3-1 deficit. The Pistons are known for the physical style of play, and that will be a major challenge for Cleveland. The Cavs seem to be fully healthy for this series, as are the Pistons. Pistons' coach JB Bickerstaff was Cleveland's coach for quite a few seasons.

Can Cleveland handle Detroit's physical play? Will Donovan Mitchell and James Harden outplay the Pistons' backcourt? Can the Cavs' keep the Pistons' Cade Cunningham from going off on a big scoring series? Can Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley handle their business in the paint vs. the Pistons' frontcourt? Which bench players will make an impact? Which coach will have the biggest influence in this series?

A lot of questions to answer, and we should see early on how this series will play out. Game 1 is Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

GO CAVS!!