Recap: Heat 124, Cavs 107 (The Offense Was Better?)
2021-05-02Last night the Cleveland Cavaliers lost their sixth game in a row and ninth out of their last 10 to the desperate for wins Miami Heat, 124-107. There was a lot more competence displayed on the offensive end of the court for the Cavs, recording 30 assists on 50% shooting from both the field (37-74) and three (20-40). Unfortunately, it was turnovers (18) again and godawful defense (134.8 defensive rating) that did the Cavs in. Let’s go into the takeaways…
Game Ball: Cedi Osman
The much maligned by Cavs’ fans Cedi the Jedi turned in a career high 11 assists as well as a surprisingly solid seven rebounds, and topped the night off with 15 points. He did turn the ball over five times with a particularly bad stretch in the second half, but ultimately Cedi led all starters in net rating (+5.4 over next best Jarrett Allen) and the Cavs’ offense posted an elite 124.0 offensive rating while he was on the court. It was nice to see Cedi with the ball in his hands more to leverage his above average vision and decision making into better team offense, as opposed to making Cedi stand in the corner and brick threes. May it become a more lasting trend.
Keep that ball moving 😍 pic.twitter.com/KwQdEmlHD0
— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 2, 2021
Bench MVP: Dean Wade
It was a get right game for DWade who came out firing to the tune of 18 points (6-10 from three), chipping in two rebounds and an assist. Wade also led all Cavs in net rating (+2.2 in over 30 minutes). It is a welcome sight to see Wade aggressively looking for his shot because there seemed to be some passivity in his game over the last two weeks since losing some rotation minutes to Love and Larry Nance, Jr. Hopefully he keeps the attacking mentality, his spacing is crucial to any success of the offense right now.
Love and Sexton score 50, give up 51
It was a mixed bag from two of the stars for the Cavs, with both players turning in fantastic offensive performances. Love scored 25 points on elite efficiency (89.3% true shooting percentage) and better usage (26.2% usage rate). Sexton had one of his best passing performances of the season with eight assists and a well above average assist ratio (24.2).
ICYMI: Kevin Love is a bucket tonight.
🔥 16 PTS
🔥 6-9 FG
🔥 4-5 3FG pic.twitter.com/A4Pz8ZNemo— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) May 2, 2021
The bad news was their defense. Love posted a -30 plus/minus in only 29 minutes. The team sported a hilarious 146.7 defensive rating while Love was on the court. Sexton was slightly better with only a -21 plus/minus in 39 minutes, and the team sported a slightly better but still awful 142.7 defensive rating while Sexton was on the court. To be fair to Love and Sexton, no Cav played passable defense last night with dead legs on a second game of a back to back and an injury riddled roster. But as Coach JB Bickerstaff loves to say, “no one cares and no one’s gonna feel sorry for us.”
Quick notes on the Heat
The Miami Heat put together an impressive performance of team basketball with Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn leading the charge for the starting unit (+23 and +22 plus/minus respectively), along with little used Max Strus (+22 plus/minus in 26 minutes) and Cavs’ old nemesis Andre Iguodala (+19 plus/minus in 23 minutes) anchoring bench unit. It was Nunn and Strus that really put the Cavs away in the second quarter, allowing the Heat to manage the game until the end with opportunistic defense. Miami’s veteran leaders Jimmy Butler and Goran Dragic were content to take a back seat and allow their teammates to shine, which is what winning players do when team success is the focus.
Next up
Cavs get two days off before entering the brutal final stretch of the season, kicking off a back to back against one of the best teams in the Association, the Phoenix Suns. Until then, have good one CtB!!!
Classic sexton turnover.
Andy back via hardship exception. Maybe he can show these guys what playing hard looks like.
Meanwhile, OKC hosts the Kings. Chance for win #22 for the Thunder. Detroit hosts Charlotte. Chance for win #20 for Detroit. We have 21.
MIXED MOTIONS ON A DELLY / ANDERSON SEND OFF ( SAD TO SEE DELLYS END ) BUT HEY THAT WOULD BE GREAT —–WOULD ALSO EXTEND A JOB OFFER ALREADY FOR DELLY IN SOME CAPACITY WITH THE CAVS
Is there news that Delly was retiring or anything? I bet he tries to give it a go next year at very least he could play in Oz.
I see the Wiz are within 1.5 games of Charlotte for 8th. I’d love to see them snag 8th & beat Boston to claim 7th. Setting up these delightful (potential) 1st round eastern matchups:
Nets vs Wiz. #2 v #7. Russ vs KD & Harden. Wiz could be the only team that can outscore Brooklyn. Russ will be furious.
Bucks vs Heat. #3 v #6. Rematch.
Sixers v Celtics. #1 v #8. Payback.
Knicks v Hawks. #4 v #5. Somebody in Rd 2!
i like it…. can’t wait!!!!!
Re: the Wild Thing controversy. Can honestly see both sides. A negative with regard to developing a new young player who might be desperate for a chance. Some positives though. Apart from providing a much-loved past player with a nice sendoff, there is some potential lessons he can provide to current players in the short time he is back. However, the main positive I feel is something that doesn’t seem to have come up: Cleveland as we know is not a preferred destination for most players. Building a strong culture that is respected around the league might be one way… Read more »
yeah, definitely think it’s just a nice way to honor Varejao… i think he’s top 10 in win shares in Cavs’ history.
Yeah, Delly’s done this year… the defense and jump shot just too far gone now. Would like to see Delly stay in the fold somehow as a coach or something.
Love that you’re bringing the positive spin to this, Simmo. I love Andy so much I had a Varejao Brazil jersey custom made from China (was a POS, but it’s the thought that counts). That said, the reunion tour thing does get me depressed — a season that started with so much promise and excitement that’s now become a sideshow/Sr. League. I think we should give Bickerstaff more of a chance as he seems like the right guy to build the culture (if he has a crackerjack offensive specialist on his staff) but I still don’t understand why we didn’t… Read more »
Wins (SOS)
16: Rockets (2nd)
———-
19: Pistons (13th)
20: Minny (19th)
21: Cavs (4th), Thunder (11th), Magic (5th)
thanks Jason! C’mon top 3 lottery slot!
GOTTA ROOT FOR THE MAGIC TONIGHT VS THE PISTONS RIGHT ?
I don’t know.. looks like either way the Cavs benefit?
I did. Let’s fall to 4th first. Then we can worry about 3rd & 2nd later.
IF D.G. IS OUT THE REMAINDER OF THE SEASON —-PRETTY SAFE BET WE WILL GO WINLESS
Yup, it’s not sounding very promising either.
THAT RACE FOR THE 5TH SPOT // LOTTERY “TANKING ” IS REALLY HEATING UP BETWEEN THE CAVS AND OKC—-WILL BE A “FIGHT—TANK ” TO THE FINISH !!!!
I think Joe Vardon loves to stir up drama, but this is completely unsurprising… and I guarantee Jimmy Butler was taunting Cavs players last night LMFAOOO: https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/cavaliers-players-get-taunted-by-opponents-who-tell-them-collin-sexton-wont-pass-the-ball-per-report/
Probably true. That’s what Jimmy does. It doesn’t matter.
Miami putting on a clinic against Ball and Hornets tonight now, they might be trending in the right direction at the right time.
“Allow their teammates to shine,which is what winning players do.”,,,,,,,,,,touche!!
LMFAOOO thanks steve!!!
to me the guy that made the whole offense work for Miami was Duncan Robinson. You could not give that guy an inch last night, or he was hitting a three. Really a ton of gravity. He’s going to be a 16-22 million dollar player next year.
Yup, great call Nate, probably should’ve mentioned it but he makes the amazing look ordinary with his jumper LMFAOOOOO He’s the next iteration of Reggie Miller/Ray Allen/Kyle Korver.
Saw on the broadcast he’s the fast player to 500 3s and it was by something crazy like 40-50 games.
Trying to sneak one out in the fantasy league semifinals…. ;)
A real Cinderella story!!! LMFAOOO
“DITTO ” WHAT SIMMO SAID ———LAST DAY WITH GRANDKIDS– ( GOING TO MISS THEM ) ——-MIGHT ALLOW ME TO VIEW MORE CAVS GAMES —–NOT SURE I REALLY WANT TO —–GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE FOR CAVS TO GET VIEWERSHIP ESPECIALLY 7:00 START GAMES ——WITH THE WEATHER GETTING NICE // NIGHTS ARE LONGER / PEOPLE CHOOSING TO ENJOY THE OUDOORS —I AM ONE OF THOSE !!!!——BUT MAIN THING IS WE KNOW THEY ARE IN “TANK ” MODE // NOT GOING TO SEE COMPETIVE GAMES—- ( ALTHOUGH THE SIGNING OF ANDERSON WOULD MAKE ME WATCH THEM ) —–BUT HEY DON’T GO ON… Read more »
Yup, I think the brightest spot to the end of the year was DG, and he’s hurt.
About the only thing to watch at this point is how Sexton finishes the year, whether he can win some games as the starting PG.
You are getting quite good at this CLF – your best writeup yet.
Agreed
Appreciate it gentlemen, the practice must be helping!!!! LMFAO!