It was crushing for the Cleveland Cavaliers when it was announced that Jarrett Allen was set to be out indefinitely after fracturing his middle finger, coupled with him suffering a quad contusion on top of that during Cleveland’s win on Sunday against the Toronto Raptors.
With what Allen means to this Cavs team, this was awful news. It’s reportedly uncertain if Allen will be back during the regular season, so yet again, it’s next man up.
For the team itself, the Cavaliers have not been close to the same defense, even prior to Allen’s injuries, in post-All-Star break play. That was dating back to a handful of games before the All-Star break, too, frankly.
Cleveland’s 10-day signing of Moses Brown could help to some degree as fill-in play for Allen, and I’d think he could honestly stick around, but from here, the Cavaliers will need their offense to keep it going, thanks to amazing play of late from Darius Garland. Evan Mobley, also, should have an expanded role, I’d assume.
For these Cavs, they’ll simply have to move forward here, and next up for Cleveland is a game at the Miami Heat, the first leg of a back-to-back, prior to them taking on the Chicago Bulls on the road to conclude this three-game roadie on Saturday. Miami is the first seed in the Eastern Conference, whereas the Cavaliers are currently the sixth seed.
So what do you need to know about this third and final matchup between the Cavs and Heat, and how to bet?
This meeting is far different between these two clubs, as the first matchup in Miami did not have the likes of both Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, along with the second meeting in Cleveland. That won’t play out here with Adebayo at least, and needless to say, it won’t be a game where the Cavs should clearly handle the Heat.
Adebayo will be involved here, but we’ll have to see on Butler, who missed Miami’s last game due to illness (non-COVID-19-related). The clear loss for the Cavaliers is the lack of Allen, to drive that home.
In regards to both squads’ play of late, while Miami lost by a considerable margin to the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, despite a strong start, the third quarter did them in against the league’s top team this season. But the Heat have still generally been playing well, having won seven of their last 10 generally thanks to strong defense, and Tyler Herro has been on fire recently, and appears to be a lock for the league’s Sixth Man of the Year Award.
The Cavs, meanwhile, are just 4-6 in their last 10 games, but Garland doesn’t appear to be limited, and Lauri Markkanen seems to finding his footing again after an extended absence because of an ankle sprain. Mobley has responded well in his past two contests, also, in the wake of the Allen injuries.
With that, we’ll take a look at the betting info for Friday’s Cleveland-Miami game.
Cavaliers-Heat: Betting info for Friday
According to our partners at WynnBet, the Heat are favored in this one by a considerable margin of 6.5 points over the Cavaliers. The over/under total for both is set for 210.5.
For Miami individually, that mark is set for 108.5, and that for Cleveland is set for 102.5 at the moment.
Cavaliers-Heat: Projected starters and injury report
Heat starters: Kyle Lowry, Gabe Vincent, Duncan Robinson/Jimmy Butler, P.J. Tucker, Bam Adebayo
Cavs starters: Darius Garland, Isaac Okoro, Dean Wade/Lauri Markkanen, Lauri Markkanen/Evan Mobley, Evan Mobley/Moses Brown
Heat injuries: Markieff Morris (out, return to competition reconditioning); Jimmy Butler (questionable, illness); Caleb Martin (questionable, knee); Javonte Smart and Kyle Guy (out, G League two-way).
Cavs injuries: Jarrett Allen (out, quad/finger); Caris LeVert (out, foot); Collin Sexton (likely out for season, knee); Dylan Windler (G League-on assignment).
Cavs-Heat: Prediction
In this contest, the Cavs will be going up against a totally different animal in the Heat on the offensive end of the floor, as Miami is one of the league’s best defenses.
Of course, if Butler is not able to go here, that changes the complexion some on that end, particularly for Lauri Markkanen and/or perimeter shooting threats, I’d think. That’s not to knock Butler’s defense against key drivers, though.
In any case, for the Cavs, while the over/under for them seems very low here, given Miami’s defensive playmakers and ability to create turnovers, the Cavaliers cannot be sloppy with the ball, and they’re going to need another big game out of Mobley. And can the Cavs be within striking distance enough to have a few runs in them in the second half, while Okoro and company try to keep Herro and Robinson in check?
They potentially could, and Cleveland mixing in some zone could help contain Lowry; the rotations off-ball need to be on-point to shooters, however. Now, two full days of rest should help some, and maybe we see Moses Brown have an impact on spurts on the interior with his 7-foot-2 frame, but it will be his first game with the Cavs, so I can’t say definitively.
In this one, although I could see the Cavs keeping it close, more so if Butler is not able to go, Lowry and Miami may just be too stout on the defensive end for Cleveland without LeVert here.
So I’m going with the Heat to cover by a bit, but I am going with the over, which wouldn’t be lofty. Kevin Love and the bench do need to be big here to give the Cavaliers a chance at an upset; perhaps that plays out, though.
Prediction: Heat 109, Cavs 102
The Bet: Heat (-6.5), OVER
Cavaliers-Heat: Where to watch
This third and last meeting between the Cavaliers and Heat this season can be watched on Bally Sports Ohio and Bally Sports Sun, for fans in-market and subscribed to those.
For fans out of market or without those options in-market, if subscribed, NBA League Pass should have the contest.
Cavs upcoming schedule:
After this final meeting with the Heat, at least of the regular season, the Cavaliers will take on the Bulls, as we touched on, in the second leg of a back-to-back in Chicago. The Bulls haven’t been on-point of late, partly injury-related, but that’s still a tough matchup for Cleveland and the Cavs will have to start well.
Following that contest, the Cavaliers will have the first of a five-game homestand with their second game of the year against the LA Clippers on Monday; Cleveland won the first way back in the beginning of the season. Despite their key injuries throughout the season to their big guns, the Clippers are one of the league’s more versatile teams defensively, and that’ll be another difficult matchup, especially with their deep shooting abilities.
From there, the Wine and Gold will take on Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers for the third time, with then being the first time this season at home. Philadelphia has taken the first two contests, and despite an outstanding start in the last meeting a week ago, the Cavs couldn’t pull that out. Without Allen this go-round, another matchup with Embiid, James Harden, Tyrese Maxey and company is yet another difficult contest, which will be a common theme from here on out for the Cavaliers. I can never count this Cavs team out, though.