- Cavs took their talents to South Beach, and get out of there with a win. Just when they turn you off, they draw you right back in with three straight wins after a lowly loss to Portland at home. The Cavs go to an impressive 7-3 away from Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
- Dean Wade has played in 14 games, missed 8 games and now started 7 games. An Evan Mobley injury created a spot start opportunity for Wade who responded with a team best +23. Wade’s statline wasn’t anything to write home about but he played well enough in the minutes they needed with Mobley out, and was a key cog in limiting Jimmy Butler to 16 points on 15 shots and 33% from the field. But also..
- DEAN WADE.
- The last two games have been a welcomed change in starting the game out attentive defensively. They held the Magic to 107.8 pts per 100 possessions, and the Heat to 99 points defensively. The Cavs weren’t necessarily a poor defensive team to start the season but the point-of-attack defense, help on drives and overall defensive energy just wasn’t there. It has seemed to return these last two – let’s hope it continues.
- The Max Strus revenge game probably didn’t go as he would have planned it. He finished 4-17 and 2-11 from 3.
- For a team going down 25-17 and then 39-23, the Cavs weren’t playing that bad. It was just a weird start. The Cavs were getting solid offensive possessions, they just weren’t hitting shots. On the other side, the Heat got hot from deep (Josh Richardson had 17 first half points) and put a string of three balls together to really push their lead in the first half. It wasn’t that they were playing bad on either end of the floor as much as one team hitting their shots and another team not. Simple, right?
- They also got into some foul trouble early. Which combined with some injuries forced unusual early game lineups to the tune of using 11 different players in the first 15 minutes. Darius Garland had three early fouls which limited his first quarter minutes. At one point CRAIG! Porter Jr, Sam Merrill, Isaac Okoro, Georges Niang and Damian James shared the court together. The Heat quickly went on a 5-0 run to which JB Bickerstaff responded by switching out Strus for James and the Cavs cobbled those points back.
- Yes, a Damian James sighting. Not sure what motivated Bickerstaff to go with him early, other than trying to give him another shot, but James responded with 1 turnover, 1 foul and a -12 in 3 minutes.
- The 1H belonged to Heat runs. They had a 15-0 run in the 1Q and a 11-0 run in the 2Q. To the Cavs credit, they didn’t fold and quickly responded with a 15-0 run of their own in the 2Q to get back to even about midway through the 2Q and head into the break with a 1 point lead. Want to guess who was on the court for a bulk of that? CRAIG!
- Yes, CRAIG! found his way back off the bench and making positive plays. It took Bickerstaff putting Garland out to start the 2Q and picking up an early 4th foul for Bickerstaff to give CRAIG! some additional burn. But, it all worked out in the end. CRAIG! filled up the stat sheet with 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block (on a 7-ft Orlando Robinson). He's shown some rookie mistakes in recent play but I don’t know how you keep him on the bench and not continue to give him minutes. He needs minutes.
- Donovan Mitchell came out en fuego from the locker room. He quickly pushed the Cavs lead to 14 with 11 points himself within a 13-0 run. Mitchell finished the game with a 27 point, 13 rebound double-double. He’s 10-23 from three-point range in his last 3 games so let’s hope that shooting slump is over.
- Getting back into the game a little bit, the Heat started to trap the Cavs P&R ball-handler, often Garland or Mitchell, and forced others to make plays. The Cavs actually handled this well, all things considered, but it did allow the Heat to gain some points and creep back into the game.
- Give the Cavs credit: They were going punch for punch with the Heat in the third quarter. They could have easily folded or let the lead shrink but they managed to curtail any Heat run or momentum they started to build.
- Who knew Niang was a 4th quarter performer? I have no idea how Niang finished with a -10 but he was incredibly critical in the 2nd half and 4Q with his shooting. He hit some big shots when the Cavs needed offense. (He also got into a little bit of a scuffle with Richardson.)
- Anyone know what stat I’m obligated to mention next? The Cavs are 8-3 now when Strus and Niang hit 2+ 3pters.
- The Heat were a +1 in the 4th quarter but the Cavs being a +21 in 2Q and 3Q made it hard for the Heat to come all the way back. They had some opportunities but the Cavs were managed to do enough late.
- I'm still not overly comfortable in the Cavs high P&R late in the shot block late game strategy. It puts too much pressure on Garland and Mitchell to produce and really limits your shot types. It didn't hurt them tonight but there needs to be more sustainable late game offense.
- Tristan Thompson gave the Cavs a cool +21 off the bench. With Jarrett Allen being relatively ineffective most of the night, credit to Thompson for being ready with some good minutes.
- One small observation: Isaac Okoro looks much more decisive, coordinated, and effective in his drives this year. He’s been determined in getting to the rim and it’s been a nice little wrinkle in his game. The next step: Putting together a touch finish from the block/restricted circle area. Okoro’s go-to euro step can get him too deep sometimes, to the point of getting himself in some tough spots. If he can get a floater together, it would make for a really good next level for him offensively.
- I know it's how they look, but... Cavs are 10-5 in last 15, 7-3 in last 10 and 4-1 in last 5. Is this meant to inspire hope? Maybe.
- Up next: The Cavs have a couple days off until they take on the Magic in Orlando on Monday at 7PM (ET).
