Cavs Compared to 2010 Miami Heat: Five Games In

The Cleveland Cavaliers got back on the winning ways in their last game. It is a start but they still sit at 2 – 3 and have a ton of things going on that need to be worked out. The Cavs have all the talent in the world but, as GM David Griffin mentioned at the end of last season, fit is the most important thing.

One comparison that the Cavs will have this season is the 2010 Miami Heat, the first season the Big Three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh came together. That team, like the Cavs came together quickly and had some growing pains. They made it to the NBA Finals before falling to the team oriented Dallas Mavericks. The Finals is a great goal for this team, though many fans will be unhappy if they don’t win a title.

So lets take a look at how the two teams compare during their first five games in a number of ways:

There is nowhere in the box scores, outside of offensive rebounding, from the first 5 games that the Cavs hold a distinct advantage over the Heat.

Record

Cavs: 2 – 3

Heat: 4 – 1

The Heat took on the Boston Celtics in their first game and lost. After that four straight wins over the 76ers, Magic, Nets and Timberwolves followed, none closer than 10 points. the Heat blew out the T-Wolves by 32, the Magic by 26 and the Nets by 23. The Cavs wins have been far less pretty.

Shooting

The Cavs are shooting, on average, nine more field goal attempts per games than the Heat were. They are shooting five percent lower than the Heat, 42 to 47. The Cavs are also shooting 1.6 more three pointers on average per game but making almost 2 less than the 2010 Big Three. The efficiency with their shooting is severely lacking.

Rebounding

The Cavs are out rebounding the Heat by almost 3 offensive boards per game, 2.8, but are getting 6 less defensive rebounds per game. With LeBron James, Kevin Love, Anderson Varejao and Tristan Thompson on the Cavs they should be setting records for rebounds. The Cavs porous defense leads to both easy shots that go in and defenders out of position to get rebounds.

Defense

The Cavs defense has been anything but great. Compared to the Heat the Cavs are averaging 2.4 less steals per game and 2.8 less blocks. The block shots are not a huge surprise given the Cavs lack of rim protector but the Heat were not boasting Mutombo their first year together either. The steal number is far more disturbing with James roaming the passing lanes and Andy’s quick hands. That seems to be an effort issue.

The Cavs opponents this season have averaged 101.4 points per game. The Heat in their first five games were at a mere 84 points. The difference of 17.4 points per game is the difference between a 4 – 1 team and a 2 – 3 team.

Passing

This has been a huge subject so we will just give you the stats: The Heat averaged 3.6 more assists per game than the Cavs in their first five games. That is 18 more assists total in five games.

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Physicality

It is tough to measure how physical a team is but when we see that the Cavs are fouling over 5 times less per game than the Heat did it may tell the tale. Defensively fouling is one way to let the opponent feel you. Often during hustle plays fouls are also called. The Cavs have 26 less total fouls in 5 games than the Heat. Sometimes not fouling is smart, sometimes it shows a non-physical team. The Cavs are also getting to the free throw line almost 2 times less per game, not forcing the action to get foul calls.

Overall

There is nowhere in the box scores, outside of offensive rebounding, from the first 5 games that the Cavs hold a distinct advantage over the Heat. They are turning the ball over a little less, 1 per game, but that tends to happen when you are passing far less. It is early in the season but comparing the start of this team to the Heat will help us see how they are doing as they attempt to gel together. It was done once before, can the Cavs make magic happen?

What do you think of these numbers?