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

[buzzdog]

You were around during the LeBron stints. You should know better.

That inbound down by 3 would've been LeBron surrounded by the team's four best shooters. Even if they were corpses. Instead, we had the personnel equivalent of Tristan Thompson and DeAndre Liggins in on that possession.

Name the shooters who should have been out there.

And legit criticism is one thing. But there are people who make no posts other than bitching about the coach. Fuck them.

 

[The Oi]

Sometimes you just lose tough games. Even good teams make mistakes here and there.

The Heat have good shooters.

Sucks they gave up a lead. Heat made a bunch of tough shots late and played good d. They also have a great coach.

Cavs won the first one. Playing with house money there. Keep winning.

 

[Tlyons]

Butler went into playoff mode. Its why I want nothing to do with Miami in the first round.

I tell you what though, Herro aint making those shots in the playoffs.

 

[buzzdog]

Tough loss as the Cavs played well enough to win, but Herro and Strus got hot from deep and pulled it out. Between the two of them they were 9-for-14 on 3's and hit some tough, contested shots.

As usual, the Cavs gave away two crucial points on a failed inbounds pass. If I were Dan Gilbert I would have Bickerstaff in my office explaining why his team can't simply inbound the ball from the sideline. They need to spend at least a half hour in tomorrow's practice just working on inbounding. This is getting embarassing.

I can't believe Okoro missed a dunk. Between the missed dunk and the Miami steal and dunk off the inbounds play we lost four points that were the difference.

Mitchell had an awesome game with 43 points but he needed 30 shots. Butler was 12-for-16 for 33 points, including a huge 19-foot jumper with Stevens in his face and the Heat leading by a point with 18 seconds to go. He misses that and we have a chance to win on a 2-pointer on the last shot.

I didn't think we had a chance without Garland but the boys made a great effort. But as usual it came down to 3-point shooting. The Heat made 48%, the Cavs 42%. Guess who won?

The Cavs also were dominated on the boards 46-34. They had a 7-point lead going into the 4th but missed 10 of their first 13 shots. The Heat got hot from outside and that was it. You never feel any lead is safe when you know Herro and/or Strus can get hot at any moment and hit three or four 3's in a row. Not to mention Jimmy Butler, who either gets the bucket or the foul 90% of the time he tries to force his way to the rim.

But the most important thing is whether Allen will have to miss any games. When he was injured late last year the Cavs went into a tailspin.

Excellent observations on Herro and Strus. In the post game interview Donovan mentioned how the Heat exploited some miscommunications by the Cavs defense that led to too many open threes, which the Heat knocked down tonight. Not to mention Butler being Butler, this wasn't an easy game to win, but we sure as hell competed and had a chance to win. Chalk it up as another learning experience.

 

[Jscc]

Name the shooters who should have been out there.

And legit criticism is one thing. But there are people who make no posts other than bitching about the coach. Fuck them.

Mitchell, Green (literally his only role here), Wade (36%), and LeVert (36%) with Rubio inbounding.

 

[Tlyons]

Name the shooters who should have been out there.

And legit criticism is one thing. But there are people who make no posts other than bitching about the coach. Fuck them.

I swear some of yall just need to put people on ignore for the game threads if its going to make you this upset.

I've done it and its done wonders for me.

 

[Tlyons]

Game 69 and inbounding the ball is still an adventure.

 

[Cavatt]

Thought the Cavs played a great game. A couple of tiny things prevented the win

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Incessant whining about the coach does not make you a "knowledgeable" basketball fan. It just makes you a whiner.

Nobody is whining about the coach; they are pointing out his numerous flaws.

 

[KilgoreTrout]

Thought the Cavs played a great game. A couple of tiny things prevented the win

JB Bickerstaff is 6’6”. He’s not tiny.

 

[stick]

Just finished the game.

Not pissed in the slightest. Miami had to hit some of the most outrageous bullshit rabbit out of a hat shots possible mixed with home court cooking. Cavs outplayed them imo. Herro is really funny. He's neutralized by game three against the Cavs. Too much energy expended and wasted for stupid ass shit which becomes a win for the defense. Kudos to the tough shots Tyler, Jimmy, and Struss hit though. It happens.

Cavs were picking apart the zone they employ over and over again with cutters and timely passes which was nice to see. Okoro was a menace. Donovan adjusted and came back with a vengeance in game 2.

Were there some missteps? Absolutely. But... Had a smile on my face and was standing up throughout. The playoff feel was certainly in the air and the Cavs met the challenge.

Overall, was really pleased how these two games played out. Wanted this win but would love to face Miami again in the playoffs. Would love it.

Can't wait for the weeks to come! This is exciting

 

[cabs]

I honestly feel like we should have won by 15-20, ridiculous tough shot making by miami mixed with garbage no calls on the cavs. I would not fear miami at all in a series they feel super limited

 

[Peacedog]

Nobody is whining about the coach; they are pointing out his numerous flaws.

You claim you (and others) point out the coach's many flaws. Yet, you admit you don't watch the games. How's that work, Mr. "The Cavs will win 35 games this Season?"

 

[Wham with the Right Hand]

Cleveland was outscored by 20 points in Okoro’s eight fourth-quarter minutes, as the Heat effectively ignored him on the offensive end, using the extra defender to pester Mitchell instead. - Fedor

Okoro had a good game (for him) with 16 points on just six shots. He even had a couple of offensive rebounds, including a tip-in, which I don't know if I've seen from him this year. He also had three assists and a couple of steals.

To be fair, Okoro did not attempt a shot in the 4th quarter while Mitchell was 3-for-10. Donovan missed four 3's in the 4th quarter, making none. Even when doubled he was still forcing up shots. It's not like Okoro was missing uncontested 3's, although a missed dunk that led to a Herro 3-pointer in transition was a 5-point turnaround in a 4-point loss.

This team is not designed for one player to score 42 while the next highest scorer has 16. It looked like Mitchell felt that with Garland out he had to score for both of them. He did, but missed 15 shots and committed four turnovers. Despite scoring 42 I don't think it was his best game, but it should have been good enough if one of the league's worst 3-point shooting teams didn't have two players get hot at the same time.

 

[Cavatt]

Cleveland was outscored by 20 points in Okoro’s eight fourth-quarter minutes, as the Heat effectively ignored him on the offensive end, using the extra defender to pester Mitchell instead. - Fedor

Okoro had a good game (for him) with 16 points on just six shots. He even had a couple of offensive rebounds, including a tip-in, which I don't know if I've seen from him this year. He also had three assists and a couple of steals.

To be fair, Okoro did not attempt a shot in the 4th quarter while Mitchell was 3-for-10. Donovan missed four 3's in the 4th quarter, making none. Even when doubled he was still forcing up shots. It's not like Okoro was missing uncontested 3's, although a missed dunk that led to a Herro 3-pointer in transition was a 5-point turnaround in a 4-point loss.

This team is not designed for one player to score 42 while the next highest scorer has 16. It looked like Mitchell felt that with Garland out he had to score for both of them. He did, but missed 15 shots and committed four turnovers. Despite scoring 42 I don't think it was his best game, but it should have been good enough if one of the league's worst 3-point shooting teams didn't have two players get hot at the same time.

Yeah, Okoro got fouled on that dunk attempt, no call and that was the game