INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Cavs enter the 2025 NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed for just the fourth time ever — and first without LeBron James — after a special 64-win season that has led to dreams of another championship. It’s a new position. One that comes with added pressure. “It’s welcomed,” Cavs coach Kenny Atkinson replied when the topic arose following Saturday’s practice at Cleveland Clinic Courts. “This is what we live for — the challenge. You have to embrace it. I see the same thing you see, right? We’re in that mix, in that mix to be a championship ball club. We’ve obviously got to prove it. I’m looking forward to it." Two years ago, the Cavs weren’t supposed to win their first-round series against New York. It was only star guard Donovan Mitchell’s first season in Cleveland. The roster was flawed and lacked seasoning. The Knicks were a terrible stylistic matchup. It ended with an eyebrow-raising, non-competitive flameout. Last year, after a wobbly regular season finish that included what some perceived to be matchup manipulation, the Cleveland-Orlando series was seen as an essential pick ‘em — and it played out that way, with the Cavaliers sneaking past the upstart Magic in seven games, home-court advantage being this franchise’s salvation. This time? The expectations have changed. The bar has been raised. Success has a different definition. “That’s fun,” Mitchell said with a wide smile. “Who wouldn’t want this? This is what makes what we do fun. This is what we do. This is why we show up to work. This is why we spend all this time. That’s why you get pushed around, you’re doing these extra sprints, doing all these different things, this is what you do. Yeah, there’s pressure, but it’s (expletive) fun. I’m excited.” Following this last Sunday’s regular season finale, the Cavs had a few extra days to relax, recover and recharge before learning their first-round opponent — a result that finally came late Friday night, as Miami topped Atlanta and secured the Eastern Conference’s eighth seed. Mitchell, who missed the final four games because a sprained ankle, has been full go at practice, with no restrictions. When asked Saturday, the eve of Game 1, how that ankle was feeling, Mitchell said it was “great.” “I’m a Spida Man,” Mitchell said — an ode to his longtime nickname. “Got the powers and stuff. Doesn’t really affect you the same. Always great.” That’s another difference from last spring, when Mitchell hobbled into the playoffs with a troublesome knee that required a PRP injection and eventually caused him to sit the final two games of the conference semifinals. Cleveland’s big-picture plan to go into the playoffs at full strength worked — and it didn’t come at the sacrifice of being the East’s top spot. “We’ve shown over the course of the year who we can consistently be,” Mitchell said. “I’m definitely grateful for the hardships, the things we’ve went through as a group because that’ll definitely help. But we’ve also shown that we can be a really high-octane basketball team on offense and a really lockdown team on defense. That’s what I expect from here on out.” Anything less will be an organizational failure, especially given what appears to be one of the most lopsided first-round matchups in recent memory. Miami went 37-45 during a regular season torpedoed by Jimmy Butler’s nonsensical drama and eventual trade to Golden State. The Heat squandered 15 fourth-quarter leads, showing a lack of killer instinct. As the East’s 10th seed, they needed to win both road play-in tournament games just to get into the playoffs, becoming the first team ever since the indoctrination of the league’s soccer-style tourney five years ago. Even though the Cavs are viewed as heavy favorites, and rightfully so given their historic 82-game jaunt that included a top 10 ranking in both offense and defense, there’s still a healthy level of respect for the battle-tested Heat. “They’re a fantastic organization,” Mitchell said of the Heat. “They’ve obviously won championships. They’re known for their culture. Just because they were a 10 seed doesn’t mean anything with them. We’ve just got to do what we do and understand it’s going to be a physical series.” “In my mind they’re not a 10 seed,” Atkinson added. “They’re an experienced team. They have a lot of vets that know their roles. They have championship players, guys who have won championships and a coach who has won a championship. “I just look at it as a great challenge and an exciting challenge. First round you’re playing the Miami Heat with all their history and tradition, we’re going to improve whether for series down the road, future, all of it, this is going to make all of us better.” Saturday’s practice was the third session but first with opponent-specific game planning. As the Cavs were going through a detailed film breakdown, former Heat swingman Max Strus spoke up and offered some institutional knowledge. “He was most vocal in film today and added three or four tidbits, a couple of strategic points on their style of play,” Atkinson said of Strus. “He knows the personnel. Gave a couple of things the coaches didn’t bring up.” In the days leading up to Sunday’s series opener, numerous Cavaliers have spoken about entering the playoffs with a chip on their shoulder — a result of years-long disrespect. “That’s just us. We’ve always been the underdogs no matter what,” Darius Garland said. “Cleveland doesn’t get the love that we really deserve. We are going to wear that. We are going to have the chip on our shoulder and try to prove as many people wrong as we can. It’s basically the world. Gotta prove them wrong. We’re No. 1 in the league. We’re the best team in the league. I think we deserve to be recognized as that.” Veteran Tristan Thompson even ripped league schedule-makers during a local radio appearance for having the audacity to put the East’s top team on NBA TV for Game 2 on Wednesday. Mitchell chuckled when informed of Thompson’s barb. “We don’t get the respect we deserve,” Mitchell said. “But we also haven’t done anything. Until we take care of business, I don’t expect anything different. Do I feel like we’re deserving of it? For sure. I think we definitely have shown that. “At the end of the day we get our respect by taking care of business on Sunday.”