Lessons the Cavaliers can learn from the 4 NBA Conference Finals teams

Only three teams now remain in the NBA Playoffs, absent of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ presence. As the number four seed going into the postseason, missing out on the NBA Finals and previously, Conference Finals, is nothing astonishing; yet, watching the eight-seeded Miami Heat and the seven-seeded Los Angeles Lakers prior to that continue competing shows that effort and skill matters more than regular season record.

This year was the first opportunity for the majority of Cleveland’s roster to experience the postseason, so their loss will serve as a learning experience. Though the Cavaliers can watch film on their series, watching the teams that have succeeded and recognizing what they did right will also prepare Cleveland for a better next season.

What can the Cavs learn from the final four playoff teams this year, with the Lakers also in mind, prior to their series loss? What aspect of those teams could help fix the Cavs’ short comings?

Miami Heat

Jimmy “Buckets” Butler and the Miami Heat are currently 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals as the eighth seed against last year’s NBA Finals contestant in the Boston Celtics. In Round One, the Heat fended off the East’s top team Milwaukee Bucks in only five games. Next, they defeated the team that took the Cavs out of the running, the New York Knicks, in only six games.

This playoff run has been impeccable and historic. Watching from home, what the Cavaliers can learn from the Heat (other than losing Kevin Love sucks)?

The Heat can teach the Cavaliers that depth and talent can be found anywhere if you’re willing to hustle.

In recent seasons, the Cavaliers essentially signed three players from the G-League affiliate Cleveland Charge to the main roster. Those players, Dean Wade, Lamar Stevens and Sam Merrill, did not play much at all against the Knicks. Though those three Cavs did not see the court consistently in those five games, President of Basketball Operations Koby Altman is no stranger to discovering hidden talent.

Both Darius Garland and Donovan Mitchell are on supermax contracts, and Evan Mobley is likely to earn one himself in the coming years. In that case, the Cavaliers could discover cheap, game changing role players by taking a note out of the Heat playbook and searching where nobody else takes a peak.

Additionally, it matters how those players are utilized on the team. Throughout this postseason, Jimmy Butler has averaged 29.9 points per game. In Game 3 against the Celtics, Butler was not the top scorer on the Heat in the 26-point win. Instead, that honor went to undrafted guard Gabe Vincent, who sank six out of his nine attempted three-pointers.

More than just signing this talent, the Cavs will need to trust them in the brightest spotlight. Opponents will center their defense around the idea of stopping Mitchell, Garland, and Mobley’s productivity. Finding the extra pass and trusting that player just as much as you trust your star-studded core could be the final piece in elevating the Cavaliers’ ceiling for success.