The Cleveland Cavaliers followed their 125-94 Game 7 win over the Detroit Pistons with a series of social posts directed at the Pistons and Michigan, the report says.
Moments after the buzzer, Cleveland posted “CLEEEVELAND BASKETBALL,” a play on the Pistons’ battle cry coined by PA announcer John Mason, who typically yells “DEEE-TROIT BASKETBALL,” the report says. The Cavs then shared a photo of a car with a dog chain and the team logo with the caption “What up doe?” and added “All Bark, No Bite,” poking fun at the gritty personality the Pistons adopted this season, per the report.
The Cavaliers also responded to an earlier Pistons post from the series. After Detroit’s win that gave it a 2-0 lead, the Pistons posted a map with driving directions from Detroit to Cleveland to underline the regional nature of the matchup, the report says. Cleveland returned the favor by sharing a similar image and captioning it, “In case you need directions to the nearest ECF game, Detroit fans,” according to the report.
With the intra-state rivalry in play, the Cavs blocked out the “M” in their “Let Em Know” slogan in a nod to the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry, the report says. The team added a caption to emphasize that the focus was on beating Michigan.
The Cavs’ victory returned them to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2018, the last time LeBron James played for the franchise, the report says. The team has also won six straight Game 7s, the second-longest streak in NBA history, according to ESPN Research.
Cleveland will face the New York Knicks in Game 1 on Tuesday, per the report.
