Live Thread: Cavs @ Heat

Good evening CtB!

The Cavs venture to the beaches of South Florida to take on the Miami Heat in a pivotal late season Eastern Conference tilt. Miami is desperate for wins to hop into the sixth seed and avoid the play-in while the Cavs are fighting to hold onto the fourth seed. It appears that former Cavs and NBA champion Kevin Love is probable for the game, but the Heat will still be missing Kyle Lowry. The Cavs are fully healthy, exactly where they want to be heading into the playoffs.

What do the stats say about the Heat? That they’re not a good team and if the Cavs lose to them (which they already have once this season), it would only add ammo for those casual NBA fans who think the Cavs are a fraudulent team. While the Heat still have an excellent defense (ranked top 5 in the NBA in defensive rating), their offense is a disaster (ranked bottom 5 in the NBA in offensive rating). It shouldn’t have been a surprise to see the desperate Heat pick up Kevin Love and start him because their roster outside of Jimmy Butler is overrated and stinky. Unfortunately for the Heat, Love’s shooting woes from January have carried over to Miami in his short time there. The fact that Erik Spoelstra has this team above .500 is a miracle.

What will the key to victory be for the Cavs? It would help the Cavs to push the pace against this poor shooting team, as they prefer to keep the game a half court grind much like the Cavs do. Rebound and run will help mitigate the Heat’s excellent half court defense.

Tip off is scheduled for 7:30PM Eastern time and will be broadcasted live on Bally Sports Ohio, Go Cavs!