CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. It\u2019s the team\u2019s first time reaching the conference finals without LeBron James since 1992. <\/p>\n
The longer the playoff run goes, the more the Cavs organization is working to give fans once-in-a-lifetime experiences.\u00a0<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert chartered 25 buses of over 1,000 Cavalier fans in an all-expenses paid trip to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pistons
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Daryl Rakosy, of Strongsville, was one of the fans in attendance and is grateful that Gilbert and the organization provided such a rare experience
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The Cavaliers will host watch parties at Rocket Arena for road games in the Eastern Conference Finals<\/p>\n
Daryl Rakosy\u2019s love for the Cleveland Cavaliers began when she was in high school.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have loved everything about all sports,\u201d Rakosy said. \u201cSince my daughter plays basketball, I\u2019ve really gotten into it a lot more. We go to the games; we cheer on our team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rakosy never thought she\u2019d get the chance to attend a Cavs playoff game on the road.\u00a0She got that chance thanks to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe truly just felt the love from him. That he thought of all of the layers to make sure that this was an exceptional experience from the beginning to the end,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Gilbert paid for 25 buses filled with thousands of Cavs fans for an all-expenses paid trip to Detroit for Game 7. Rakosy said it was an incredible gesture.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope Dan Gilbert knows how much the fans appreciated the opportunity,\u201d said Rakosy. \u201cFrom game five with eight buses to 25 buses in game seven. I hope that he feels and understands the appreciation from his community for him to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cavs fans in attendance certainly made a difference in Game 7. Cavs guard Sam Merril and head coach Kenny Atkinson say they were a big reason the team could beat the Pistons and push through to the conference finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cTop to bottom, it\u2019s a first-class organization,\u201d Merrill said. \u201cThey were very, very loud. It was a lot of fun and really cool to see.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve never seen that in the NBA,\u201d said Atkinson. \u201cWhere a visiting team brings up that many people and they\u2019re present. We heard them. It was so cool behind the bench. I think the players and the coaches appreciate it so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rakosy said this playoff run has allowed her and her husband to create lifelong memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cToward the end of the game we started chanting \u2018Jarrett Allen\u2019,\u201d said Rakosy. \u201cHe turned, and he looked at us and just gave us the biggest smile. He did that in the moment to appreciate us and everybody lost their minds.\u201d<\/p>\n
As the Cavs compete against the Knicks to reach the NBA Finals, Rakosy is confident the organization will continue to deliver for its diehard fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m grateful that they recognize that their fans will always be there for them,\u201d she said. \u201cThe whole world needs to know that Cleveland will always represent. We play hard, we don\u2019t give up, and we\u2019re going to let them know that we are here and that we are champions. We\u2019re ready to roll.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Cavaliers are hosting in-arena watch parties at Rocket Arena for road games during the Eastern Conference Finals. Tickets are $5, with all proceeds benefitting the Greater Cleveland Food Bank. Each transaction has a six-ticket limit.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The watch parties will also feature\u00a0appearances by mascots and entertainment teams, photo opportunities, giveaways and on-court activations with Cavs Youth Sports Coaches.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Fans can also shop from the playoff collection, including new gear for the conference finals in Center Court, the official team store. When fans purchase a Cavs hat, they will receive a free patch that can be heat-sealed on.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Eastern Conference Finals will return to Rocket Arena for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday, with both games tipping off at 8 p.m.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CLEVELAND \u2014\u00a0The Cleveland Cavaliers are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2018. It\u2019s the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":680732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[434],"tags":[1014,3550,49,48,45806,205457,459,44,6376,122427,45807,82,39],"class_list":["post-680731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-app-sports","tag-app-top-stories","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-ctv","tag-jack-berney","tag-nba","tag-news","tag-ohio","tag-ohio-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-ohio-what-you-need-to-know","tag-sports","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=680731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/680731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/680732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=680731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=680731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=680731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}