NBA

• Cavs, Wizards meet for third straight year in postseason

  
  

  (Sports Network) - It's deja vu all over again for the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers and fifth-seeded Washington Wizards, as the squads meet for the third straight year in the opening round of the NBA Playoffs.

  This is a best-of-seven series. Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.

  The Cavaliers were seeded No. 2 last year and swept the seventh-seeded Wizards in the quarterfinals of the conference playoffs. The year before, Cleveland needed six games to dispose of the Wizards. Led by superstar LeBron James last season, the Cavs breezed past Washington before beating both New Jersey and Detroit in six games to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA finals against San Antonio. However, the Spurs broke out the brooms on Cleveland with a sweep for their fourth NBA title in nine years.

  It's a new year and there are different faces on the Cavs' roster this season, giving them even more hope to capture the first title in team history. James led the NBA in scoring and continues to impress each and every time he steps foot on the court. With new teammates Ben Wallace, Delonte West, Joe Smith and Wally Szczerbiak, James has a realistic shot at bringing home an NBA title and ending the championship drought that has plagued the city of Cleveland.

  The Cavaliers are in the playoffs for the third consecutive season. James, as usual, is the main culprit for that after he led the NBA in scoring with exactly 30.0 points per game.

  Gilbert Arenas, however, will make sure his Washington squad will keep the Cleveland dreams at bay. Arenas started the first eight games of the season for the Wizards before needing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, the same knee that required surgery in the offseason. Arenas returned to the Wizards as a key reserve in early April, and helped the team lock up the fifth seed over pesky Toronto and Philadelphia.

  Washington forward Antawn Jamison stepped up in Arenas' absence and compensated for the streaky play of fellow teammate Caron Butler. Butler was hampered with both knee and hip problems, but should be ready for head coach Eddie Jordan in the Wizards' fourth straight appearance in the postseason.

  During the regular season, the teams split four contests as both clubs won a pair of games at home.

  The Cavaliers were 27-14 at home this season, while Washington was 18-23 as the visitor.

  04/19 10:41:07 ET