Cavaliers buy rest with sweep

The Cleveland Cavaliers got a very important win on Sunday afternoon over the outmatched and thoroughly overwhelmed Atlanta Hawks.

The victory was not important because Cleveland finished off Atlanta in the NBA’s Eastern Conference Semifinals. It mattered because the Cavaliers were able to seal the series in four games, earning their second consecutive sweep and a load of rest going into the conference finals.

Cleveland is a team that has ample veterans in the rotation. LeBron James is getting into the end of his prime, no longer the best player in the game. Kevin Love has been in the league for seven years and point guard Kyrie Irving is young, but certainly one of the more injury-prone stars in the sport.

The Cavaliers can now rest and relax, waiting for either the Toronto Raptors or Miami Heat to meet them in the penultimate round of the postseason. Miami and Toronto are only going into Game 4 on Monday night, with Toronto holding a 2-1 lead in the series. Considering how even the games have been (both Game 1 and 2 went to overtime), the Heat and Raptors will likely play six contests and perhaps even seven.

If that is the case, Cleveland could get a solid week of rest if not 10 days.

This is the best thing that could have happened for the Cavaliers. They came into the Eastern Conference playoffs as the top seed and pounded the Detroit Pistons in a four-game sweep before taking care of Atlanta in the minimum. Cleveland has to be incredibly fresh when it goes up against either the San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors or Oklahoma City Thunder, so these sweeps are gaining it a serious advantage down the stretch.

Whether or not the Cavaliers can beat any of those three teams remains in serious doubt. The bench isn’t as strong as what San Antonio or Golden State can put forth, and both of those foes have stars all over the roster. It will be a monumental challenge that James in particular is all too familiar with.

Cleveland has at least given itself the best possible chance of raising the Larry O’Brien Trophy at the end of the season by taking care of business. So often, teams at the top of the bracket drop games that are not seen as overly-important, such as a Game 4 when already up 3-0. Cleveland has not taken its proverbial foot off the gas, and now there should be plenty left in the tank.

If nothing else, the Cavaliers won’t have to look back and feel they could have put themselves in better position by focusing on the task at hand.