The Cleveland Cavaliers will travel south on Tuesday night for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off with the Miami Heat in what will be the final regular season matchup between the two teams. According to the NBA standings, however, this may not be the final time LeBron James and Co. square off against Dwyane Wade and the Heat.
And if that's the case, one of the NBA's most highly anticipated playoff series will finally come to fruition.
In their 15-year NBA careers, James and Wade have combined to play in 389 playoff contests -- including 86 as teammates in Miami from 2011-14. Not once, however, have the two best friends faced off against one another in a postseason series, despite both players making the playoffs on separate Eastern Conference teams in seven different seasons.
This year is the year that could finally change that.
At 44-29 and riding a 5-game winning streak, the Cavs currently sit in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Miami, having lost its last two contests, ranks eighth at 39-35, with a five-game lead over the Detroit Pistons for the East's final playoff spot.
But while the current standings would suggest a Cavs-Heat playoff series as unlikely, all it would take is a few games in the final two weeks of the regular season for that to change. Cleveland currently holds just a one-game lead over the Philadelphia 76ers and 1.5 game advantage over the Indiana Pacers for the 3-seed, while the Heat sit 1.5 games back of the Washington Wizards for the 6-seed.
Should the Cavs hold on to the No. 3 seed, it's not inconceivable they could find themselves facing a sixth-seeded Heat team in the first round. Or should Cleveland slide to the No. 4 seed, it's possible -- albeit not likely -- the Heat could climb up to the 5-seed, where they're currently four games back of Indiana.
It would take an upset -- likely on Miami's end -- but a second-round matchup between the Cavs and Heat isn't out of the question either.
Should Cleveland remain the 3-seed, it could potentially face a seventh-seeded Miami squad, should the Heat take advantage of the injury-riddled Boston Celtics in the opening round. A less likely second-round scenario: the 8th-seeded Heat knock off top-ranked Toronto in the first round, before facing a fourth or fifth-seed Cavs team in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
Factor in the potential of an admittedly unlikely Eastern Conference Finals Cavs-Heat matchup and there are plenty of possibilities for the first LeBron James vs. Dwyane Wade playoffs matchup to occur this season. That potential collision course will begin on Tuesday night, when the Cavs -- who traded Wade back to Miami after 46 games in Cleveland earlier this season -- face the Heat in what could ultimately be just a preview of what's to come this spring.
"Our arena is going to be excited for this game. I'm sure they want to continue to play well. Our team will be excited for it," Wade told reporters in Miami.
"And I always look forward to the matchups."
He's not alone.
