After a hard-fought first-round series against the Indiana Pacers in which the Cleveland Cavaliers needed seven games to emerge victorious, many NBA fans thought they would be in peril in subsequent rounds, beginning with the Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup against the Toronto Raptors. Instead, LeBron James and Co. came out firing on all cylinders and managed to easily send the Raptors back into extinction with a four-game sweep.
In that series, the Cavs received contributions across the board and appeared to finally be playing with cohesion and rhythm. Many thought they would carry that over into the next round and then cruise into the NBA Finals.