As the race for the top spot in the East (along with the last couple playoff spots) is drawing to a close, the playoff matchups are becoming a little bit more clear every day. A team the Cleveland Cavaliers should want to avoid? The Miami Heat.
Leave it to Dion Waiters to be a component as to why the Cleveland Cavaliers might want to avoid going head-to-head with the Miami Heat in the playoffs.
It’s funny how the NBA works. Back in December, there wouldn’t have been a soul on the planet that thought the Miami Heat would be an intriguing playoff matchup for the mighty Cavaliers.
Now crawling their way up the Eastern Conference standings and into a potential playoff spot, the Miami Heat are one the most dangerous teams not just in the East, but across the league as well.
After starting the season with a record of 11-30, the Heat were all but ready to pack things up and gear themselves towards lottery positioning.
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However, a revitalized offense thanks to Goran Dragic, Hassan Whiteside, James Johnson–and yes–Dion Waiters, the Heat have themselves in a much more comfortable position than at the start of the new year.
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The Heat are currently ninth in the Eastern Conference standings — only a half game back of both the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls for the eighth spot — after winning 13 straight games in January and February and going 26-10 since Jan. 17.
The Heat are currently 1½ games ahead of the Charlotte Hornets in the standings and only two games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the sixth-best record.
It really could go either way for Miami down the stretch and since Cleveland is bouncing between the first and second spot in the conference, it may come down to the very last game of the season before any playoff positions can be solidified.
But what makes the Heat so dangerous to a team that can catch fire hotter than any team outside of Oakland, Calif.? The fact that they can get just as hot from downtown as any team in the NBA.
Dragic, who is having quite possibly the best season of his already undervalued and prestigious career, is shooting 41.1 percent from 3 since Jan. 17.
Waiters has shot 44.2 percent from 3 since the Heat began their season-changing run. Waiters has become a staple in the team’s offense and it’s no coincidence that the Heat are 3-5 since Waiters went out with an ankle injury on March 17.
Waiters could possibly miss the remainder of the regular season, which would be huge for a team that controls its own destiny, but he should be ready to go for the playoffs if the Heat do indeed hold onto their current position and make the playoffs.
Since Jan. 17, Tyler Johnson is shooting 34.1 percent from 3.
Out of absolutely nowhere, Luke Babbitt is shooting 45.8 percent from deep, while Wayne Ellington is shooting 39.9 percent from 3, proving at the age of 29 that he is finally ready to become a beneficial and effective player in the NBA — and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Heat.
If the Cavaliers’ defensive intensity of late is any indication of how they’ll play in the first round of the playoffs, a streaky team such as Miami could be lethal.
Cleveland Cavaliers
Whiteside will be no easy task to deal with on the glass as he leads the league in rebounding with 14 per game. Plenty of threes will go up and Whiteside is incredible at collecting the misses and creating even more opportunities.
Now most expect the Cavaliers to make it to the NBA Finals for a third straight season (myself included) and I expect them to progress more and more as the playoffs trudge along as they have in seasons past, which is exactly why Miami could pounce on the opportunity of playing the Cavs early.
While the Cavaliers may have a “switch” that they can supposedly flip at any time, it doesn’t mean that flip will do exactly what it means. The Cavs aren’t going to suddenly become the juggernaut they were in last year’s NBA Finals overnight, it could take several games.
This is where the Heat could take advantage of the Cavaliers’ laziness. Exploiting the lack of the Cavaliers’ perimeter defense could play into the Heat’s favor, especially if they continue to shoot from deep like they have been.
The Miami Heat are currently the 13th-best three-point shooting team in the NBA, which may not seem too dangerous, but considering how bad they were through the first half of the season (which was bottom five in three-point percentage), it’s impressive how well they have been able to recover.
It’s even more than impressive, it almost seems impossible.
Sorry to spoil the playoffs, but odds are the Miami Heat will lose in the first round to the Cavs regardless, although you shouldn’t let that deter you from the fact that the Heat are the Cavs’ biggest potential challenge in the first round.
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It isn’t likely that the Charlotte Hornets or Detroit Pistons manage to slide themselves into the top eight and even then they can’t match up in any aspect with the Cavaliers.
If the Chicago Bulls end up being the Cavaliers’ first-round opponent, as long as the games aren’t all in Chicago and played on TNT (where they have won 20 straight in that scenario, which is weird, right?), the now Dwyane Wade-less Bulls simply won’t be able to keep up with the Cavaliers overall talent level for seven games.
The Indiana Pacers could be the most exciting matchup for the Cavs, but that depends on which Pacers team decides to show up.
If the one that recently took the Cavs to double overtime shows up, then things could get interesting, however if the anti-ball movement, below .500 Indiana Pacers show up, it could be a quick series.
Throw in the Waiters revenge factor plus the Miami-LeBron James connection and the first round of the playoffs may be more intriguing — and competitive — than at first glance.
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My last thought: Erik Spoelstra should be in heavy consideration for Coach of the Year, if he isn’t already the current favorite.