Game Thread | Game #69 | Cavs @ Heat | March 10, 2023| NBA TV 8:00 p.m.

[TheISHT]

I think it's a testament Mitchell didn't go off and we still won. I'm still in wait and see mode with our first playoff series. I'm hoping JB can show he can make adjustments, I hope our team shows they can take it to another level. I fully expect Mitchell to avg more than 30 a game in the playoffs......dude is a gamer and we have yet to see his playoff version unleashed. I'd be ok with growth if we could make it to the 2nd round and push the next team to 6 or 7 games. I just don't want to get swept and hope JB can show some signs of growing as a tactician.

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Cavs 148
Heat 80

A bit of Boomer history for the young'uns....

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

Appreciate you @Wham with the Right Hand. Love the information and details that you provide.

It's like a broken record at this point, but this is the only place where Cavs fans can get the best damn previews before each and every game.

 

[Cavatt]

Hope they come out strong again. Reduce the mistakes and they will beat the heat easily

 

[bob2the2nd]

21 of the Heat's 29 free throws Wednesday were either by Jimmy Butler (15) or a 3-point shooter (6). The Cavs need to avoid fouling 3-point shooters, especially with an expiring shot clock where the shooter is just forcing up a bad shot. They should also double-team Butler, who excels at throwing himself into the defender and getting the call. Trap Bulter with a double-team, make him pick up the ball, then have the player who doubles him drop off to take the open 3-point shooter.

Another option is wait until Butler has dribbled himself to his shooting spot and then double him late when the shot clock is almost expired and there's no time for a pass.

When the Heat got behind in the second half Butler tried to bring them back himself, getting the ball and attacking the rim on every possession. I would put Mobley on him and try to avoid switching if possible. Mobley has been excellent at contesting shots and forcing misses without fouling.

We didn't see any zone defense from Miami on Wednesday. From a SBNation column on Jan. 30:

Miami has run 926 zone possessions this season. The second most frequent zone advocates are the Portland Trail Blazers, who have run it a mere 365 times in 2022-23.

I don't know if they'll break out their zone tonight - they held the Cavs to 104 points without it on Wednesday. By the way, this is an interesting column on Miami's defense if you have a few minutes. It has a good description of the Heat's base defense.

The first face is the Heat’s base coverage. I like to call it the Hyena Heat. As the name implies, when Miami is in this mode, they are ferocious. They are trapping/hedging, hard switching, gaping one pass away, digging/stunting at the ball, fronting in the post, and aggressively denying cutters the ball. The Hyena Heat have two main priorities: forcing turnovers (first in opponent turnover percentage) and keeping the ball in front of them (aka point-of-attack defense).

Are the Miami Heat the future of NBA defense?

The Heat’s defense is great. It’s revolutionary, too.

www.sbnation.com

curious where you pulled from that the heat didnt run any zone Wednesday night? i very much recall at least a couple of possessions that they ran it. unless it was some sort of modified zone that doesnt count

 

[The Human Q-Tip]

A bit of Boomer history for the young'uns....

Kind of depressing to see that some things never change. That game is framed as the Heat losing by 68, and only Heat players are shown in the still, rather than as a 68-point win by the Cavaliers

 

[J_J]

Today is a great example game of how adjustments work. It’s like game 2 of a series.

I expect Miami to play more zone tonight. I would like to counter with Mobley or Allen at the FT line (preferably Mobley) because they have both great vision.

If they are playing man or blitzing up top, I like to see both Garland and Mitchell up top and utilize ghost screens again or misdirection.

I’m also liking on how both Garland and Mitchell having plays together and finding each other. It’s been a massive improvement as they’re getting more familiar with each other.

This will be a fun one to watch.

 

[stick]

Today is a great example game of how adjustments work. It’s like game 2 of a series.

I expect Miami to play more zone tonight. I would like to counter with Mobley or Allen at the FT line (preferably Mobley) because they have both great vision.

If they are playing man or blitzing up top, I like to see both Garland and Mitchell up top and utilize ghost screens again or misdirection.

This will be a fun one to watch.

It's gonna be fun and I agree! That playoff feel is in the air and good calls on counters to what Miami will do.

If DG can't go, it'll be tough but still winnable.

Speaking of Darius and not playing... If he's out tonight, I would love to see him out til Wednesday next week against Philly.

 

[jjvors]

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.

Thanks for the summary.

I expect more from Mitchell, who had a 'meh' game for him. Look for him to get at least 30.

Mobley killed them. They can't adjust to that. Allen will get a double-double.

If Mitchell shoots better and everyone else does the same as last game, we'll win.

109-101 Cavs. 50% chance of winning

 

[Kuiper]

 

[PIP]

 

[cavsfever]

the last game reminded me of classic Knicks-Heat games from the 90s that were a chore to watch and where nobody could score, although I guess those kind of defensive struggles these days end up 104-100 rather than 84-80.

If Garland is out that's big. We definitely don't win the last one without him.

 

[Cavatt]

curious where you pulled from that the heat didnt run any zone Wednesday night? i very much recall at least a couple of possessions that they ran it. unless it was some sort of modified zone that doesnt count

Yeah that was when Allen and Mobley started lunging for the basket after cutting middle.

I think the Cavs immediately get it to the center now who distributes it attacks from top of the key. Cavs immediately knew what to do with that.

They kept switching it up, though. I think you are right about a modified zone or unusual zone. They were shaded hard to the strong side and almost had 2 guys on the ball. Is that a 2-1-2 zone? Leaving Okoro open. That seemed like their main defense at the end of the game.

 

[Pierre Pan]

The line moved 4 points since DG showed up on the injury list.

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

curious where you pulled from that the heat didnt run any zone Wednesday night? i very much recall at least a couple of possessions that they ran it. unless it was some sort of modified zone that doesnt count

I could be wrong but I never saw them playing a zone and the announcers never mentioned it. Usually it's immediately obvious.

If Garland is out it's extremely unlikely we'll win IMO. He had 25 points, 7 assists, 2 steals and was a +8 on Wednesday.