This is the first playoff appearance for the Toronto Raptors since 2021-22, when they finished as the fifth seed in 2021. The Cavaliers, who ranked fourth in the NBA in 2025-26, lost to the Nets and the Hawks and did not qualify as one of the eight playoff teams from the Eastern Conference. This is the fourth consecutive season for the Cavaliers in the playoffs. The Raptors won all three games between Cleveland and Toronto in the recently concluded regular season. They ranked 21st at 114.6 points per game and the Cavaliers ranked eighth in 3-point shots per game, with a 36.3 percent success rate of 36 percent.