The Cleveland Cavaliers have held the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference nearly all season. Darius Garland has played a key role in that success.
Now, they’re set up to make a deeper playoff run than they’ve managed the past two years. Garland opened up about how the team’s past postseason failures have fueled this season’s performance.
Darius Garland Revealed How Playoff Experience Fueled the Cavaliers’ Success
In an interview with RG.org’s DJ Siddiqi, Garland was asked if the Cavaliers’ previous playoff experience helped shape their 2025 season.
“Yes, for sure,” Garland told Siddiqi. “Just being out there, just getting the feel of the playoff atmosphere has really helped us. The physicality is totally different from the regular season, so getting a feel for that and just really paying attention to details.”
Garland also talked about how the slower pace of playoff basketball helped Cleveland prepare for this year’s postseason.
“The possessions really slow down, the possessions lessen in the playoffs, so you really have to take care of the ball, really have to rebound the ball on the defensive end and try to get some easy ones,” Garland said.
“Because it’s really tough to score in the half-court during a playoff series. Just getting a couple rounds under our belts has really helped us, especially last year going against Boston.
“I think that really flipped the switch in our head just to be ready to play all games, be ready for the physicality, and really just take care of the ball on the offensive end, trying to get a shot or rebound every possession.”
This will mark the Cavaliers’ third straight postseason since they traded for Donovan Mitchell in 2022. In their first year with him, they were bounced by the New York Knicks in a gentleman’s sweep. In the second, they made it to the Eastern Conference semifinals, but Boston handled them much like New York did the year before.
What stands out most about this year’s Cavs team is how they improved without adding any new stars. The jump has mostly come from internal growth — especially from Garland, Evan Mobley, and Ty Jerome.
They picked up De’Andre Hunter at the trade deadline, but the team was already rolling before his arrival. Hunter was brought in more for reinforcement than rescue.
Whether this is finally the year Cleveland breaks through remains to be seen. They’ve gotten the playoff experience Garland talked about. Now it’s up to Mitchell and company to show they’re more than just regular-season contenders.