What We Learned: Cavs vs Heat
The Cavs traveled to Miami on Monday night to seek revenge for their loss on Christmas Day. LeBron’s second trip back home turned out to be just as bad as his first trip. Cleveland wasn’t able to get anything going all night, and went on to lose 106-92. Here’s what we learned from the loss.
• Kevin Love may have missed the game for more than rest. Love missed both Sunday and Monday’s game due to “rest”. It’s odd to see a player miss both games of a back to back because of that. We can only speculate, but there could be something more than rest that held him back from the game against the Heat. As the season progresses I expect other veteran starters to get rest as well. It’s time to get ready for the playoffs. Don’t be surprised if LeBron or Kyrie miss a couple games because of rest.
• LeBron’s winning streak without his headband is over. The Cavs have won four in a row going into Monday’s game against the Heat. This was their first loss since LeBron lost his headband against Phoenix. Could this mean the headband finally returns????
• The Cavs showed that they can still have an off-night shooting. After shooting 59% from the field against Orlando the night before, Cleveland shot 38% against the Heat. That’s a pretty drastic difference. The Cavs couldn’t get anything going. They weren’t able to get out and run like they normally do and were only able to get 4 fast-break points. The only player to shoot 50% from the field or better for the Cavaliers was Shawn Marion. That’s not a good sign.
• Miami has the worst fans in the league. I don’t like bashing on other team’s fans, but the Heat fans showed again why they are so awful. The majority of their fans had already left before the 4th quarter was halfway over. The Heat had a good lead, but that’s still no excuse. This was one of the two biggest win for the city and organization this season, and they couldn’t even stay to watch it all the way through. The Heat players deserved better from their fans on Monday night. They gave it their all on the floor, but their fans didn’t even stay around to watch them seal the win.
• Somebody besides LeBron or Kyrie needs to step up. While it’s great when the dynamic duo carries the team to victory, there are going to be nights when someone else has to step up. LeBron and Kyrie didn’t have their best stuff on Monday night, but they also didn’t get any help from their teammates. There’s going to be games like this in the playoffs. Someone else needs to step up.
• Dwayne Wade can still dominate for stretches. Wade was out to prove a point to LeBron again on Monday night. He finished with 32 points on 13 of 18 shooting. He actually looked like his old self for a change. He’ll have to keep playing like this if the Heat want to make the playoffs. Even with the win they sit 6 games under .500 and are currently tied for the 7th seed with Indiana and Boston. If Wade can keep playing like this they could be in the playoffs, but that’s a big if.
Player of the Game: Dwayne Wade (32/2/2)
The Cavs will be back home Wednesday night against the Nets.
Jackson Flickinger
pic credit Cleveland.com
