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After a hard-fought 104-100 win over the Heat on Wednesday the Cavs and Heat have a rematch tonight, this time with an 8:00 p.m. start on the NBA network. Should be the same lineups as Kyle Lowry is still out.
It will be interesting to see what adjustments each team makes. The Cavs need to do a better job defensively on Jimmy Butler, who scored 28 points and attempted 15 free throws.
The Cavs did a great job contesting 3’s, holding Miami to 8-for-29, or 27.6%. But they committed two bad fouls on 3-point shooters, resulting in 5 points for Miami. Tyler Herro was 4-for-8 on 3’s while the rest of the Heat was an abysmal 4-for-21. The Cavs need to stay on Herro and not let him get any clean looks from deep without fouling. He made two free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer, so he scored 14 of his 22 points from outside the arc.
Max Strus and Victor Oladipo were both 2-for-8 on 3’s so the Cavs did a great job on them, but I expect they’ll shoot better this time.
Gabe Vincent, the starting point guard in place of Lowry, was held scoreless in 18 minutes and was so frustrated he threw an elbow in Lamar Stevens’ face and got called for a flagrant foul, gifting the Cavs two crucial points. Caleb Martin was held to 4 points in 30 minutes; he scored 18 the last time these teams played.
The Cavs did a great job defensively on the Heat’s supporting cast and held the team to 100 points, which results in a Cavs’ win almost every time.
However, Bam Adebayo got himself in early foul trouble and played just 29 minutes - six minutes under his average. Having Cody Zeller on the floor instead of Bam for half of a quarter might have been the difference in a close game. I don’t expect Bam to get into early foul trouble tonight.
If Bam stays out of foul trouble and the Heat’s 3-point shooters do a better job the Cavs will need to score more than 104 this time to get the W.
Donovan Mitchell was held to 18 points on 1-for-7 from deep so it would help if he could find his outside shooting stroke. Jarrett Allen got in early foul trouble so he needs to avoid that. We have no bigs on our bench.
These are the #1 and #2 teams in the NBA in scoring defense, so a score like 104-100 is to be expected. The last game in Cleveland was 100-97 so when both teams are mostly healthy they are very evenly matched. This shapes up to be another close, low-scoring game where every possession is important. I expect the Heat to come out very hard in an attempt to avoid getting swept at home. They still have a chance of catching the Nets for 6th place and avoiding the play-in tournament.
The Knicks lost to Sacramento last night so the Cavs now have a three-game lead with both teams having 14 games to play.
The Cavs have won two in a row in the final minutes - Wednesday against Miami and the previous game in OT against Boston. They are starting to show they can beat good teams in games that come down to the wire.
The Heat shot just 28% on 3’s Wednesday but 68% on 2’s and also had 29 free throw attempts. They committed a season high 22 turnovers; they average under 14. I expect the Heat to commit fewer turnovers and shoot better on 3’s this time around. Adebayo will stay out of foul trouble and play more than 29 minutes. I think this game will be much more difficult to win with more Bam and less turnovers this time.
For the Cavs to win they need to continue to contest 3’s and force misses, do a better job preventing 2’s without fouling so much, and shoot better from deep (32% probably won’t cut it this time). Evan Mobley has made only 5 of his last 25 from deep so he should probably can the 3-pointer for now. They should probably try to double Butler from time to time. He scored 28 points and attempted only one 3-pointer on Wednesday.
It will be interesting to see what adjustments each team makes. The Cavs need to do a better job defensively on Jimmy Butler, who scored 28 points and attempted 15 free throws.
The Cavs did a great job contesting 3’s, holding Miami to 8-for-29, or 27.6%. But they committed two bad fouls on 3-point shooters, resulting in 5 points for Miami. Tyler Herro was 4-for-8 on 3’s while the rest of the Heat was an abysmal 4-for-21. The Cavs need to stay on Herro and not let him get any clean looks from deep without fouling. He made two free throws after being fouled on a 3-pointer, so he scored 14 of his 22 points from outside the arc.
Max Strus and Victor Oladipo were both 2-for-8 on 3’s so the Cavs did a great job on them, but I expect they’ll shoot better this time.
Gabe Vincent, the starting point guard in place of Lowry, was held scoreless in 18 minutes and was so frustrated he threw an elbow in Lamar Stevens’ face and got called for a flagrant foul, gifting the Cavs two crucial points. Caleb Martin was held to 4 points in 30 minutes; he scored 18 the last time these teams played.
The Cavs did a great job defensively on the Heat’s supporting cast and held the team to 100 points, which results in a Cavs’ win almost every time.
However, Bam Adebayo got himself in early foul trouble and played just 29 minutes - six minutes under his average. Having Cody Zeller on the floor instead of Bam for half of a quarter might have been the difference in a close game. I don’t expect Bam to get into early foul trouble tonight.
If Bam stays out of foul trouble and the Heat’s 3-point shooters do a better job the Cavs will need to score more than 104 this time to get the W.
Donovan Mitchell was held to 18 points on 1-for-7 from deep so it would help if he could find his outside shooting stroke. Jarrett Allen got in early foul trouble so he needs to avoid that. We have no bigs on our bench.
These are the #1 and #2 teams in the NBA in scoring defense, so a score like 104-100 is to be expected. The last game in Cleveland was 100-97 so when both teams are mostly healthy they are very evenly matched. This shapes up to be another close, low-scoring game where every possession is important. I expect the Heat to come out very hard in an attempt to avoid getting swept at home. They still have a chance of catching the Nets for 6th place and avoiding the play-in tournament.
The Knicks lost to Sacramento last night so the Cavs now have a three-game lead with both teams having 14 games to play.
The Cavs have won two in a row in the final minutes - Wednesday against Miami and the previous game in OT against Boston. They are starting to show they can beat good teams in games that come down to the wire.
The Heat shot just 28% on 3’s Wednesday but 68% on 2’s and also had 29 free throw attempts. They committed a season high 22 turnovers; they average under 14. I expect the Heat to commit fewer turnovers and shoot better on 3’s this time around. Adebayo will stay out of foul trouble and play more than 29 minutes. I think this game will be much more difficult to win with more Bam and less turnovers this time.
For the Cavs to win they need to continue to contest 3’s and force misses, do a better job preventing 2’s without fouling so much, and shoot better from deep (32% probably won’t cut it this time). Evan Mobley has made only 5 of his last 25 from deep so he should probably can the 3-pointer for now. They should probably try to double Butler from time to time. He scored 28 points and attempted only one 3-pointer on Wednesday.
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