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Monday, March 2nd, 2009
7:30 pm ET, American Airlines Arena, Miami, FL
TV: FSN Ohio HD, Radio: WTAM 1100
RECORDS
Cavs: 37-9 (1st in Central, 2nd in Eastern Conference)
Heat: 21-26 (3rd in Atlantic, 9th in Eastern Conference)
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HEAD COACHES
Mike Brown
REGULAR SEASON
W 191 L 113 (.628)
POST SEASON
W 26 L 20 (.565)
Erik Spoelstra
REGULAR SEASON
W 31 L 27
POST SEASON
W 0 L 0
PROBABLE STARTERS
CAVS
At Center:
Zydrunas Ilgauskus
At Power Forward:
Anderson Varejao
At Small Forward:
LeBron James
At Shooting Guard:
Delonte West
At Point Guard:
Mo Williams
HEAT
At Center:
Jermaine O'Neal
At Power Forward:
Udonis Haslem
At Small Forward:
Jamario Moon
At Shooting Guard:
Dwyane Wade
At Point Guard:
Mario Chalmers
BENCH
Cavs
Boobie Gibson|Sexiness|J.J. Hickson|Lorenzen Wright|Darnell Jackson|Tarence Kinsey|Trey Johnson|Lorenzen Wright
Heat
Yakhouba Diawara|Daequan Cook|Michael Beasley|Joel Anthony|Chris Quinn|James Jones|Jamaal Magloire|Mark Blount
=============================================
Injury Report
Cavs
Eric Snow - PG, Knee, Soon to be retired
Sasha Pavlovic - Pavlovic (ankle) particpated in his his first shootaround Thursday since suffering the ankle sprain on February 8th, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. (Feb 26)
Ben Wallace - OUT - Broken leg
Heat
Dorell Wright - Left Knee Surgery (O)
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After learning of the snow in Atlanta (and knowing that airport is one of, if not the worst in the country...maybe Detroit), I ran over to Costco to pick up 25 cases of this:
When I landed in Miami to deliver the goods, I came upon a big mess of Cavalier personnel, staff, etc:
So I went over to the hardware store and fashioned one of these bad boys:
The guys and gals of the Cavaliers organization should be good for days.
Heat Ladies
Miami Heat Dancers myspace page:
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=203292389
Game Notes
At 46-12 (.793, 58 games played), the Cavaliers possess the Eastern Conference’s best record and are now 34 games over .500 for the season. In the Cavaliers 39-year history, only the 1988-89 team have been able to accomplish this, going 55-21 (.705, 76 games played) on April 11th with a 92-90 victory over Philadelphia.
The Cavaliers won their 20th road game last night against Atlanta. At 20-11 (.645), the Cavaliers possess the 4th best road record in the NBA (L.A. Lakers, Boston, Orlando). The team now plays five of their next seven games on the road and is only two road wins from tying the franchise record of 22 road wins in a season, set by the 1991-92 Cavaliers. With a win tonight, the team will join the 1995-96 (21 road wins) and 1991-92 (22) Cavaliers as the only two teams in franchise history to win at least 21 road games.
The Cavs will face their second back-to-back game in five days and are an NBA-best 11-2 on the second night of back-to-backs.
Going into tonight’s game, the Cavaliers lead the Central Division race by 17.0 games. Cleveland also holds a 10-3 (.769) record against the Central Division (2-1 vs. Detroit, 3-0 vs. Milwaukee, 3-1 vs. Chicago, 2-1 vs. Indiana).
For the 2008-09 NBA season, the Cavaliers rank in the Top 5 in the following defensive and offensive statistical categories:
The Cavs are winning games by a 9.6 point differential, which ranks 1st, and have won 32 games by at least 10 points.
The team ranks 1st in overall opponent points allowed per game, the only team to allow less than 91.0 points, at 90.4 (next best is Boston at 92.3) and ranks 2nd (Boston) in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to only shoot .427 from the field. There have only been two teams this decade to rank 1st in both categories (2000-01 New York Knicks – 86.1 ppg/.417 and the 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs – 84.3 ppg/.409).
The Cavs rank 3rd in the NBA (Portland, Boston) in opponent rebounding, holding teams to only 38.6 rebounds per game.
Cleveland is tied for 4th (Milwaukee) in the league (Boston, Orlando, New Orleans) in opponent points per game in the paint, allowing only 36.3 per game.
The team ranks 5th in the NBA in blocks per game at 5.6 (Golden State, L.A. Clippers, Denver, Chicago).
In two games against Miami this season, LeBron James is averaging 35.5 points on 24-43 (.558), four rebounds and eight assists.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted his third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks. The last time he recorded three straight double-doubles was Nov. 14 (18-11 vs. ORL), Nov. 16 (17-12 vs. UTA) and Nov. 20 (16-12 vs. MIL).
LeBron James is shooting a career-best .769 from the free-throw line this season and with his game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds to play on Sunday, James has now made 11 of 12 (.917) consecutive free throws to tie a game or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or an overtime period. His career totals in those situations is 21-for-30 (70%).
The Cavaliers hold the best home record in the NBA at 26-1 (.963). At home, Cleveland holds opponents to NBA-lows 88.8 points (next best is New Orleans at 90.9) on .419 shooting (next best is Orlando at. .426) while averaging 104.5 points and shooting .481 (4th – Phoenix, Boston, Utah).
The Cavaliers are an Eastern Conference-best 19-4 (.826) record against the West this season, marking the first time the franchise has ever won 19 of the first 23 games against the Western Conference. The team has defeated 14 of 15 Western teams this year, including sweeping the season series from six teams (Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Memphis, LA. Clippers).
The Cavaliers won their 20th road game last night against Atlanta. At 20-11 (.645), the Cavaliers possess the 4th best road record in the NBA (L.A. Lakers, Boston, Orlando). The team now plays five of their next seven games on the road and is only two road wins from tying the franchise record of 22 road wins in a season, set by the 1991-92 Cavaliers. With a win tonight, the team will join the 1995-96 (21 road wins) and 1991-92 (22) Cavaliers as the only two teams in franchise history to win at least 21 road games.
The Cavs will face their second back-to-back game in five days and are an NBA-best 11-2 on the second night of back-to-backs.
Going into tonight’s game, the Cavaliers lead the Central Division race by 17.0 games. Cleveland also holds a 10-3 (.769) record against the Central Division (2-1 vs. Detroit, 3-0 vs. Milwaukee, 3-1 vs. Chicago, 2-1 vs. Indiana).
For the 2008-09 NBA season, the Cavaliers rank in the Top 5 in the following defensive and offensive statistical categories:
The Cavs are winning games by a 9.6 point differential, which ranks 1st, and have won 32 games by at least 10 points.
The team ranks 1st in overall opponent points allowed per game, the only team to allow less than 91.0 points, at 90.4 (next best is Boston at 92.3) and ranks 2nd (Boston) in defensive field goal percentage, allowing opponents to only shoot .427 from the field. There have only been two teams this decade to rank 1st in both categories (2000-01 New York Knicks – 86.1 ppg/.417 and the 2003-04 San Antonio Spurs – 84.3 ppg/.409).
The Cavs rank 3rd in the NBA (Portland, Boston) in opponent rebounding, holding teams to only 38.6 rebounds per game.
Cleveland is tied for 4th (Milwaukee) in the league (Boston, Orlando, New Orleans) in opponent points per game in the paint, allowing only 36.3 per game.
The team ranks 5th in the NBA in blocks per game at 5.6 (Golden State, L.A. Clippers, Denver, Chicago).
In two games against Miami this season, LeBron James is averaging 35.5 points on 24-43 (.558), four rebounds and eight assists.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted his third consecutive double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds against the Hawks. The last time he recorded three straight double-doubles was Nov. 14 (18-11 vs. ORL), Nov. 16 (17-12 vs. UTA) and Nov. 20 (16-12 vs. MIL).
LeBron James is shooting a career-best .769 from the free-throw line this season and with his game-winning free throw with 1.6 seconds to play on Sunday, James has now made 11 of 12 (.917) consecutive free throws to tie a game or take the lead in the final minute of the fourth quarter or an overtime period. His career totals in those situations is 21-for-30 (70%).
The Cavaliers hold the best home record in the NBA at 26-1 (.963). At home, Cleveland holds opponents to NBA-lows 88.8 points (next best is New Orleans at 90.9) on .419 shooting (next best is Orlando at. .426) while averaging 104.5 points and shooting .481 (4th – Phoenix, Boston, Utah).
The Cavaliers are an Eastern Conference-best 19-4 (.826) record against the West this season, marking the first time the franchise has ever won 19 of the first 23 games against the Western Conference. The team has defeated 14 of 15 Western teams this year, including sweeping the season series from six teams (Denver, Utah, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Memphis, LA. Clippers).
Game Notes From The Heat
Series Notes: The HEAT and Cavaliers meet for the third of four match-ups this season. The season series is tied, with each team winning on their home court. The Cavaliers won last year’s season-series, 3-0. The HEAT has either won or split the season-series the previous five seasons before that. The HEAT is 42-33 vs. the Cavaliers during the regular season, and is 27-10 in games played in Miami.
QUICK HITS:
• The HEAT has rejected 91 shots over the last 16 games (5.69 bpg), 45 of the 91 blocks were by players coming off the bench.
• The HEAT has amassed 464 steals (8.00 per game) this year compared to 374 (6.45 per game) by their opponents.
• The HEAT has hit a three-point field goal in 229 consecutive games, dating back to 4/8/06. That ranks as the second longest streak in team history. The longest streak was 594 games, from 1/21/94 to 11/8/01.
• Miami is 7-0 when shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field.
• The HEAT has recorded a block in 103 consecutive games, tied for the fifth longest streak in team history. The record is 238 games (3/30/97-11/24/00).
• The HEAT has shot 77-88 (.875) from the free throw line in the second half over the last eight games.
• The HEAT is shooting 86.4 percent (114-132) from the foul line in its last seven games, including a season-high 95 percent (19-20) in its game at ORL on 2/ 22. Prior to the current seven-game stretch the HEAT had shot 73.9 percent from the foul line. During the last four games, Miami is 62-70 (.886) from the line and is now shooting 75.2 percent as a team from the line for the season.
• Daequan Cook made one three-point field goal on 2/28 vs. NY and now has 202 in his NBA career. He is the 12th player in franchise history to reach 200 three’s. Jamal Mashburn is 11th on this list with 210 made three-point field goals.
• During the last nine games, Udonis Haslem is shooting 38-66 (.576) from the floor and averaging 10.0 points (90 total points).
• Haslem recorded his team-high 16th points-rebounds double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds on 2/27 at ATL. It is his 96th double-double with the HEAT, ranking him in third place in franchise history. Alonzo Mourning is next on the list with 205 double-doubles.
• Dwyane Wade has scored in double-figures in all 58 games this season and in each of his last 73 games, dating back to last season. He already holds the team record in having scored in double-figures in 78 consecutive games (4/14/05-4/14/06). Second on that list is Alonzo Mourning, who did it in 75 consecutive games (3/23/99-2/23/00)
• Over the last seven games, Wade is shooting 63-for-66 (.955) from the free throw line.
• Wade recorded his 15th double-double this season with a game-high 46 points and 10 assists vs. NY on 2/28.
• Wade’s 10 assists on 2/28 vs. NY bring his season total to 427. It is his third career season with at least 400 assists. He had 520 assists in the 2004-05 season and 503 assists in the 2005-06 season prior to this season. He joins Tim Hardaway as the only other players in franchise history to have three seasons with at least 400 assists.
• With his third steal on 2/27 at ATL, Wade became the all-time franchise leader in steals with 667. Grant Long recorded 666 steals in his seven year career with the HEAT. Wade also leads the team in steals this season with 124.
QUICK HITS:
• The HEAT has rejected 91 shots over the last 16 games (5.69 bpg), 45 of the 91 blocks were by players coming off the bench.
• The HEAT has amassed 464 steals (8.00 per game) this year compared to 374 (6.45 per game) by their opponents.
• The HEAT has hit a three-point field goal in 229 consecutive games, dating back to 4/8/06. That ranks as the second longest streak in team history. The longest streak was 594 games, from 1/21/94 to 11/8/01.
• Miami is 7-0 when shooting at least 50.0 percent from the field.
• The HEAT has recorded a block in 103 consecutive games, tied for the fifth longest streak in team history. The record is 238 games (3/30/97-11/24/00).
• The HEAT has shot 77-88 (.875) from the free throw line in the second half over the last eight games.
• The HEAT is shooting 86.4 percent (114-132) from the foul line in its last seven games, including a season-high 95 percent (19-20) in its game at ORL on 2/ 22. Prior to the current seven-game stretch the HEAT had shot 73.9 percent from the foul line. During the last four games, Miami is 62-70 (.886) from the line and is now shooting 75.2 percent as a team from the line for the season.
• Daequan Cook made one three-point field goal on 2/28 vs. NY and now has 202 in his NBA career. He is the 12th player in franchise history to reach 200 three’s. Jamal Mashburn is 11th on this list with 210 made three-point field goals.
• During the last nine games, Udonis Haslem is shooting 38-66 (.576) from the floor and averaging 10.0 points (90 total points).
• Haslem recorded his team-high 16th points-rebounds double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds on 2/27 at ATL. It is his 96th double-double with the HEAT, ranking him in third place in franchise history. Alonzo Mourning is next on the list with 205 double-doubles.
• Dwyane Wade has scored in double-figures in all 58 games this season and in each of his last 73 games, dating back to last season. He already holds the team record in having scored in double-figures in 78 consecutive games (4/14/05-4/14/06). Second on that list is Alonzo Mourning, who did it in 75 consecutive games (3/23/99-2/23/00)
• Over the last seven games, Wade is shooting 63-for-66 (.955) from the free throw line.
• Wade recorded his 15th double-double this season with a game-high 46 points and 10 assists vs. NY on 2/28.
• Wade’s 10 assists on 2/28 vs. NY bring his season total to 427. It is his third career season with at least 400 assists. He had 520 assists in the 2004-05 season and 503 assists in the 2005-06 season prior to this season. He joins Tim Hardaway as the only other players in franchise history to have three seasons with at least 400 assists.
• With his third steal on 2/27 at ATL, Wade became the all-time franchise leader in steals with 667. Grant Long recorded 666 steals in his seven year career with the HEAT. Wade also leads the team in steals this season with 124.
Game Preview
http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=290302014
Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is coming off arguably the best week of his NBA career. For the Heat to be successful over the next week, he might need to play even better.
In a matchup featuring the league's top two scorers, Wade looks to continue his surge Monday night when Miami opens a daunting portion of its schedule against LeBron James and the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
A year after missing 31 games due to injuries, a healthy Wade has led the Heat (31-27) to the fifth-best record in the East. He is averaging a league-high 29.0 points -- 0.7 more than James -- and virtually carried his team on his back this past week, scoring or assisting on 59 percent of Miami's baskets in four games.
Wade scored a career-high 50 points in a loss to Orlando on Feb. 22, and followed that two days later with a 31-point, 16-assist effort in a win over Detroit. He had 21 points and 10 assists in a loss to Atlanta on Thursday, one night before a gutsy performance in a 120-115 win at New York.
Against the Knicks on Friday, Wade scored 46 points -- 24 of them in the fourth quarter and 15 coming in a dramatic 19-0 spurt that erased a 15-point deficit in the final nine minutes. In addition to all the scoring, the five-time All-Star added 10 assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
"MVP," Heat rookie Michael Beasley said. "That's all I can say."
Cleveland (46-12) players would probably disagree with Beasley, as James helped the Cavaliers eclipse their win total from last season with Sunday's 88-87 victory over Atlanta.
The five-time All-Star, who finished with 26 points and 11 assists, drew a foul and hit the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left as the Cavs erased a five-point deficit with 1:42 remaining to win for the seventh time in eight games.
"It's one of the better wins we've had," said James, who was triple-teamed at times. "On the road, it means a lot more against a playoff team."
James, the frontrunner for league MVP, is Wade's biggest obstacle in a demanding week. The Heat host red-hot Phoenix Wednesday, visit Toronto on Friday, and meet James again Saturday in Cleveland.
"We've got to continue to move forward," Wade said. "We've got one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference coming in Cleveland. It's at home and we've got to fight again. It's playoff time."
The Cavs and Heat have split their first two meetings of the season -- a home-and-home series Dec. 28 and 30 -- with the host team winning each time.
James finished with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds in Cleveland's 93-86 win over the Heat on Dec. 28 and had 38 points and seven assists in a 104-95 loss in Miami two days later.
Wade had 29 points and eight assists in the loss to the Cavs, and 21 points and 12 assists in Miami's victory.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------In a matchup featuring the league's top two scorers, Wade looks to continue his surge Monday night when Miami opens a daunting portion of its schedule against LeBron James and the Eastern Conference-leading Cleveland Cavaliers.
A year after missing 31 games due to injuries, a healthy Wade has led the Heat (31-27) to the fifth-best record in the East. He is averaging a league-high 29.0 points -- 0.7 more than James -- and virtually carried his team on his back this past week, scoring or assisting on 59 percent of Miami's baskets in four games.
Wade scored a career-high 50 points in a loss to Orlando on Feb. 22, and followed that two days later with a 31-point, 16-assist effort in a win over Detroit. He had 21 points and 10 assists in a loss to Atlanta on Thursday, one night before a gutsy performance in a 120-115 win at New York.
Against the Knicks on Friday, Wade scored 46 points -- 24 of them in the fourth quarter and 15 coming in a dramatic 19-0 spurt that erased a 15-point deficit in the final nine minutes. In addition to all the scoring, the five-time All-Star added 10 assists, eight rebounds, four steals and three blocks.
"MVP," Heat rookie Michael Beasley said. "That's all I can say."
Cleveland (46-12) players would probably disagree with Beasley, as James helped the Cavaliers eclipse their win total from last season with Sunday's 88-87 victory over Atlanta.
The five-time All-Star, who finished with 26 points and 11 assists, drew a foul and hit the winning free throw with 1.6 seconds left as the Cavs erased a five-point deficit with 1:42 remaining to win for the seventh time in eight games.
"It's one of the better wins we've had," said James, who was triple-teamed at times. "On the road, it means a lot more against a playoff team."
James, the frontrunner for league MVP, is Wade's biggest obstacle in a demanding week. The Heat host red-hot Phoenix Wednesday, visit Toronto on Friday, and meet James again Saturday in Cleveland.
"We've got to continue to move forward," Wade said. "We've got one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference coming in Cleveland. It's at home and we've got to fight again. It's playoff time."
The Cavs and Heat have split their first two meetings of the season -- a home-and-home series Dec. 28 and 30 -- with the host team winning each time.
James finished with 33 points, nine assists and six rebounds in Cleveland's 93-86 win over the Heat on Dec. 28 and had 38 points and seven assists in a 104-95 loss in Miami two days later.
Wade had 29 points and eight assists in the loss to the Cavs, and 21 points and 12 assists in Miami's victory.
http://www.predictem.com/nba/cavaliers-heat.php
Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat Preview and Pick
Cleveland Cavaliers -4 (46-12) at Miami Heat +4 (31-27) O/U 186 Monday March 2, 2009
By Jason Green at Predictem.com
Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers head south to take on the Miami Heat. The Cavs had a golden opportunity to pick up some games on the Celtics and pad their lead as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but it may be harder now as big Ben Wallace may miss the rest of the regular season with a broken leg. The Heat are currently in the 5th position in the East and want to have a solid second half of the season in order to host a first round playoff match up. Even with the injury to Wallace the Cavs are playing well, as they have won 2 in a row and are 7-3 in their last 10, while the Heat are coming off a win and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. This game may be a preview of a second round playoff series.
This season the Heat are 20-10 at home and the Cavs are 20-11 on the road.
The Cavs are posted at -145 as away favorites and the Heat are posted at +125 as home dogs.
The Cavs come into this game after squeaking by the Atlanta Hawks yesterday 88-87. King James was the high scorer for the Cavs in that game going for 26 points on 8/20 shooting and also dishing out 11 assists. For the game the Cavs shot 33/74 for a FG% of 44.6%. On D the Cavs allowed the Hawks to shoot 31/74 for a FG% of 41.9%.
BET ON NBA GAMES THE NIGHT BEFORE THEY'RE PLAYED AND AT REDUCED ODDS AT 5DIMES
The Heat come into this game after beating the New York Knicks 120-115 on Saturday night. The high scorer in that game for the Heat was, shocker, Dwayne Wade putting up 46 points on 16/29 shooting including a perfect 12/12 from the charity stripe. For the game the Heat shot 48/99 for a FG% of 48.5%. On D the Heat allowed the Knicks to shoot 38/78 for a FG% of 48.7%.
Cleveland ranks 12th in points scored this season (100 ppg) and even though the Heat have the leagues high scorer in Dwayne Wade they only rank 23rd (96.8 ppg). On D is where the Cavs are a beast, ranking 1st in points allowed (90.4 ppg), while the Heat rank a respectable 11th (96.9 ppg). The Cavs are a much better rebounding team this season, as they have a rebounding differential of +3.2 rpg, while the Heat are only at -3.2 rpg.
This season the Cavs are the best team in the NBA to bet on, in terms of against the spread, as they are 36-20-1 ATS, while the Heat are 26-31-1. In terms of Over/Under games the Cavs are 25-32 and the Heat are 29-27-2.
On the injury front the Cavs are banged up, as PF Ben Wallace and SG Sasha Pavlovic are Out and Delonte West is day-to-day, while the Heat are relatively healthy with their only significant injury being SF James Jones, who is day-to-day.
To say that the Cavs need to contain Dwayne Wade (29 ppg) in order to be successful is an understatement, as Wade has scored or assisted on 59% of Miami's baskets in their last 4 games.
Even though Wade is obviously the Heat's best player the game may come down to how newly acquired Jermaine O'Neal (13.6 ppg) plays. In the Heat's last 5 games they have gone 3-2 and in their 3 wins O'Neal has scored at least 14 points, but in their 2 losses he scored 6 points and 8 points respectively.
With Wallace out until the post season Anderson Varejao (8.2 ppg 6.9 rpg) will have to step up on the defensive end.
The Heat do not have good interior D and they will have their hands full with Cavs C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13.5 ppg 7.6 rpg), especially since Wallace is out.
Since the Cavs are so good on defense Wade will need some help on offense, as O'Neal, Michael Beasley (13.3 ppg) and Udonis Haslem (10.7 ppg) have to find a way to score tonight.
The Heat cannot only focus on containing James, as Delonte West (12.5 ppg) and Mo Williams (17.5 ppg) can fill it up as well, especially when teams focus on James.
The Heat can really gain some confidence with a home win over the Cavs, who they meet later in the week in Cleveland and may meet them in the playoffs as well.
Jason's Pick: I like the Heat at home at +4.
By Jason Green at Predictem.com
Tonight the Cleveland Cavaliers head south to take on the Miami Heat. The Cavs had a golden opportunity to pick up some games on the Celtics and pad their lead as the number one seed in the Eastern Conference, but it may be harder now as big Ben Wallace may miss the rest of the regular season with a broken leg. The Heat are currently in the 5th position in the East and want to have a solid second half of the season in order to host a first round playoff match up. Even with the injury to Wallace the Cavs are playing well, as they have won 2 in a row and are 7-3 in their last 10, while the Heat are coming off a win and are 5-5 in their last 10 games. This game may be a preview of a second round playoff series.
This season the Heat are 20-10 at home and the Cavs are 20-11 on the road.
The Cavs are posted at -145 as away favorites and the Heat are posted at +125 as home dogs.
The Cavs come into this game after squeaking by the Atlanta Hawks yesterday 88-87. King James was the high scorer for the Cavs in that game going for 26 points on 8/20 shooting and also dishing out 11 assists. For the game the Cavs shot 33/74 for a FG% of 44.6%. On D the Cavs allowed the Hawks to shoot 31/74 for a FG% of 41.9%.
BET ON NBA GAMES THE NIGHT BEFORE THEY'RE PLAYED AND AT REDUCED ODDS AT 5DIMES
The Heat come into this game after beating the New York Knicks 120-115 on Saturday night. The high scorer in that game for the Heat was, shocker, Dwayne Wade putting up 46 points on 16/29 shooting including a perfect 12/12 from the charity stripe. For the game the Heat shot 48/99 for a FG% of 48.5%. On D the Heat allowed the Knicks to shoot 38/78 for a FG% of 48.7%.
Cleveland ranks 12th in points scored this season (100 ppg) and even though the Heat have the leagues high scorer in Dwayne Wade they only rank 23rd (96.8 ppg). On D is where the Cavs are a beast, ranking 1st in points allowed (90.4 ppg), while the Heat rank a respectable 11th (96.9 ppg). The Cavs are a much better rebounding team this season, as they have a rebounding differential of +3.2 rpg, while the Heat are only at -3.2 rpg.
This season the Cavs are the best team in the NBA to bet on, in terms of against the spread, as they are 36-20-1 ATS, while the Heat are 26-31-1. In terms of Over/Under games the Cavs are 25-32 and the Heat are 29-27-2.
On the injury front the Cavs are banged up, as PF Ben Wallace and SG Sasha Pavlovic are Out and Delonte West is day-to-day, while the Heat are relatively healthy with their only significant injury being SF James Jones, who is day-to-day.
To say that the Cavs need to contain Dwayne Wade (29 ppg) in order to be successful is an understatement, as Wade has scored or assisted on 59% of Miami's baskets in their last 4 games.
Even though Wade is obviously the Heat's best player the game may come down to how newly acquired Jermaine O'Neal (13.6 ppg) plays. In the Heat's last 5 games they have gone 3-2 and in their 3 wins O'Neal has scored at least 14 points, but in their 2 losses he scored 6 points and 8 points respectively.
With Wallace out until the post season Anderson Varejao (8.2 ppg 6.9 rpg) will have to step up on the defensive end.
The Heat do not have good interior D and they will have their hands full with Cavs C Zydrunas Ilgauskas (13.5 ppg 7.6 rpg), especially since Wallace is out.
Since the Cavs are so good on defense Wade will need some help on offense, as O'Neal, Michael Beasley (13.3 ppg) and Udonis Haslem (10.7 ppg) have to find a way to score tonight.
The Heat cannot only focus on containing James, as Delonte West (12.5 ppg) and Mo Williams (17.5 ppg) can fill it up as well, especially when teams focus on James.
The Heat can really gain some confidence with a home win over the Cavs, who they meet later in the week in Cleveland and may meet them in the playoffs as well.
Jason's Pick: I like the Heat at home at +4.
I dedicate this game thread to this guy:
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CCF'S PREDICTION
Cavaliers - 1
Heat - 0
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