NBA fans wonder if the Cavaliers sank in the fourth quarter to earn playoff seeding.

NBA

by christian arnold

If the Cavaliers were intentionally trying to lose on Sunday, they didn't seem to be hiding it in the slightest.

The Cavaliers lost 120-110 to the Hornets after pulling almost the entire starting lineup except for Max Stause, who returned to the bench to finish the final game of the season.

Cleveland's eight-point lead heading into the final quarter of the game disappeared as the Hornets took control of the lead, resulting in a loss and giving Cleveland the fourth seed in the playoffs.

Cavaliers head coach J.B. Bickerstaff's decision has sparked much debate over whether he intentionally ruined Sunday's game in order to earn the No. 4 seed in the playoffs and make it easier for the Magic to advance to the first round. called.

2020 will be the first time the Magic have made the playoffs, and the third time since 2012.

Bickerstaff, for his part, insisted after the game that the Cavaliers' plan all along was to give bench players a chance to be on the court on Sunday.

“We told the players ahead of time that we wanted everyone to have an opportunity to play,” Bickerstaff said. “We had our own plans, not what we were going to do with the players. [The starters] I was going to play three-quarters of them. ”

However, some skeptics felt the decision was made to consider playoff seeding and avoid a potential first-round matchup against Joel Embiid's 76ers.

With the Knicks and Bulls going into overtime, the Cavaliers could have easily faced the 76ers.

In the end, the Knicks won in OT.

This decision gave the Magic a victory in the first round, but allowed them to face the Celtics, a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference, in the second round.

And perhaps by risking losing Sunday's game, they also eliminate their chance to play the Pacers in the first round as a No. 3 seed, and their chance to avoid the conference finals even if the Celtics beat the Magic.

“It's hard to have all the information in real time,” Bickerstaff said regarding other ongoing games and playoff seeding. “We knew something like that was going on, but I didn't want to do anything because I sat the players down at the end of the third quarter thinking they weren't going to come back. “There's a risk in getting them back into the game.''

Still, that won't save the Cavs and Bickerstaff from the wrath of some NBA fans.

“The fact that the Cavs are intentionally losing in a matchup that they like tells you everything you need to know about how they feel about themselves. It's pretty embarrassing. Phew.” A user from X wrote:

The NBA Playoffs do not begin until April 20, when a play-in tournament will be held to determine the final two postseason spots.

This will be the first time the Magic and Cavaliers will meet in the playoffs since the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.