The Cleveland Cavaliers will look to get off the snide as they travel to Miami, to take on the Miami Heat.
It’s been a rough week for the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have lost their last four games, which have come in an eight-game stretch, that has dropped their record to 4-9. Outside of the first of those four losses, the Cavaliers have been blown out.
They lost a tight one, on the road, to the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-97. Following that loss, the Cavaliers have been outscored by a score of 345-297 in losses to the Miami Heat, the 76ers again, and the New York Knicks.
Things don’t get any easier tonight as they travel to Miami to take on the Heat, who have been one of the best teams in the entire NBA up to this point in the season. The Heat currently sit at 9-3 and are 1.5 games out of first in the Eastern Conference.
We saw just last week how good of a team the Heat are as they obliterated the Cavs in the first half and led by as many as 27 points at one point.
Traveling to Miami is never an easy task and the Cavs appear to be shorthanded tonight as it looks as Tristan Thompson will be using tonight to try out the “load management” fad.
The Action Network has this line currently set with the Cavaliers as 10-point underdogs.
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Cleveland is going to have trouble with Miami and their bigs with no Thompson and Larry Nance Jr. also nursing a thumb injury. Kevin Love missed the Cavs’ previous game against the Knicks with some back issues and we’ve seen this in the past where it has lingered for a week or so. He may not be 100%.
The Heat guards overwhelmed the Cavaliers guards in the first contest. Kendrick Nunn lit the Cavaliers up for 23 points on 10/16 shooting and also dished out eight assists and corralled five rebounds according to Basketball-Reference.
He wasn’t the only Heat guard to do whatever he wanted on the floor that night. Jimmy Butler seemingly cruised to a 14 point and six assist night. But he was able to take Collin Sexton down in the low post and kick it to the open man when the Cavs doubled, who typically swung it one more pass. If “hockey-assists” were a thing in the NBA, Butler would have had quite a few in the previous matchup.
Rookie Tyler Herro also contributed 16 points off the bench and hit half of his three-point attempts. The Cavaliers simply didn’t have an answer for the Heat and their perimeter play.
The bet – Miami Heat -10
The bet tonight, unfortunately for Cavalier fans, is the Miami Heat at -10. The Cavs are going to have to rely on big minutes from Ante Zizic and he simply isn’t going to be able to match up with Miami big man Bam Adebayo.
Unless coach Beilein has figured out a way to stop the Heat and their perimeter players, the Cavs won’t be able to keep this close.
Kevin Love being a question mark is also an issue for Cleveland. Throughout his stint in Cleveland, he has had a few issues with his back and it always seems to last more than one game. The Cavs are already down Thompson (for tonight), and Nance. There is a chance that Tyler Cook or Dean Wade will get some meaningful minutes tonight and that, simply put, isn’t going to work out in the Cavs’ favor.
The Cavaliers’ guards will have to all play their best games of the season. Kevin Porter Jr. was splendid against the Knicks in his first career start as he poured in 18 points on 6-11 shooting according to Basketball-Reference. It will be interesting to see if he can put together another outing similar to that and if he’ll draw another start with Thompson out.