Cavaliers Eastern Conference Finals: Everything To Know

CLEVELAND, OH — The grueling seven-game series between the Boston Celtics and Washington Wizards has finally come to an end, with the Beantown boys punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals. Waiting for the C's is defending champions the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James.

Despite being the 1-seed, the Celtics have struggled mightily in reaching the Eastern Conference Finals. The team was taken to seven games by the Wizards in Round 2, and were pushed to six games by the Chicago Bulls in Round 1 of the playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have looked every bit the indomitable defending champs. The team swept the Indiana Pacers in Round 1 and then swept the Toronto Raptors in Game 2. They have enjoyed nearly a week and a half of rest while waiting on an opponent for the Eastern Conference Finals.

Here's how you can check out the game.

• What: Eastern Conference Finals Game 1
• Who: Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics
• When: May 17 at 8:30 p.m. EST
• Where: TD Garden in Boston
• TV: TNT
• Radio: NBA League Pass Radio,
• History: The last time the Cavs played the Celtics in the playoffs, it wasn't pretty for Boston. Cleveland swept the series and won by an average margin of 9.4 points. The Cavs average 104 points per game in that series. The regular season match-ups between these teams saw the Cavs take three of four, so recent history is not in Boston's favor.
• Future Games: Game 2 will be played May 19 in Boston; Game 3 will be played May 21 in Cleveland, Game 4 will be played May 23 in Cleveland. If necessary, Game 5 would be played May 25 in Boston, Game 6 would be May 27 in Cleveland, and Game 7 would be May 29 in Boston.

Every game in the series will be broadcast on TNT.

The Celtics got unlikely contributions from Kelly Olynyk (who will be loudly booed in Cleveland for his injury of Kevin Love from two years ago), and Avery Bradley to advance past Washington. To get past Cleveland, the Celtics will need a Herculean performance from starting point guard Isiah Thomas, as well as more surprise nights from Thomas' supporting cast.

For Cleveland, they'll need to execute their gameplan and continue their dominance of the Celtics.

Photo from Rick Uldricks, Patch