Cleveland Cavaliers: Ranking East playoff teams who can beat the Cavs

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during he first quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during he first quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
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BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during he first quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA – JANUARY 3: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers looks on during he first quarter against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden on January 3, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

Ranking which Eastern Conference playoff teams that can beat the Cleveland Cavaliers in a potential postseason series, as LeBron believes

Recently, LeBron James had some extremely critical words about his Cleveland Cavaliers.

No, I’m not talking about him being passively aggressive about the potential firing of Tyronn Lue, but I’m talking about when he said the Cavs could get bounced in the first round of the playoffs if they continue to play at the level at which they are at the moment.

Well, here is exactly what LeBron said:

"[via ESPN] “Playoffs? We can’t even start thinking about that, not the way we’re playing right now,” James said. “We could easily get bounced early in the playoffs if they started next weekend. Haven’t even began thinking about the postseason.”"

Even though most of this is just nonsense, it got me thinking: Could the Cavs really lose in the first round of the playoffs?

Most of us still have the Cavs making the NBA Finals, even despite their shortcomings on the offensive end. Although, if Cleveland were to lose in the first round of the playoffs, what would it look like?

We try to predict it by ranking the Eastern Conference playoff teams with the best chance at dethroning the Cavs in the playoffs.