The NBA Needs Cavs-Heat First Round Matchup
The Heat and Cavs facing off in the playoffs would be very entertaining and help the postseason become interesting again
The Miami Heat defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers for the second time this season on Monday. The Heat have a good chance at making the playoffs, and a first round matchup between these two teams would be wondrous for the NBA.
The Heat lead the season series 2–1. Even though the first victory against Cleveland did not include LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, it’s hard to admit that Miami isn’t on the minds of the Cavs after their recent loss to them.
The Cavs would almost certainly win the series, but the games would be incredibly entertaining, and weakening Cleveland would help make the playoffs interesting again.
The Heat started the season pretty terribly, with an 11–30 record in mid-January. Miami then proceeded to win 14 games in a row, vaulting them from the bottom of the league into the eastern conference playoff picture. The emergence of Dion Waiters has been the catalyst to this unexpected run. He averaged 17.5 points per game in January and February, with a plus/minus of +17.6.
Goran Dragic has posted great offensive numbers since January as well. As you can see, he has been incredibly efficient.
January: 116/+3.1
February: 122/+9.0
March: 114/+13.9
The play of Miami’s back court has helped them become a legitimate threat to make the playoffs. They’re currently 1.5 games behind the Bulls and Pistons for the final two playoff spots out east, and there is no reason why the Heat can’t catch them.
Cleveland, the top dog in the eastern conference, has done everything in its power to build a roster that pleases their demanding franchise player LeBron James. Andrew Bogut is out indefinitely after breaking his leg one minute into his Cavs debut, and Kevin Love is out for at least another month with a knee injury.
The Cavs had a relatively easy road to the Finals last season, sweeping its first two match ups, and then handling the Raptors in six games. This year is shaping out to be a much tougher path to James’ seventh straight NBA Finals appearance. Toronto, Boston, and Washington are much better teams than last year, and it doesn’t help that James has played the most minutes in the league right now.
Enter the Heat. A scrappy bunch of players with plenty to prove that will give the Cavs everything they can handle. This will make Cleveland more vulnerable against the rest of the eastern conference’s elite, and make the playoffs really fun.
Waiters decided to trash talk some fans after hitting a huge shot to all but seal Miami’s victory over Cleveland. In the playoffs, tension is much higher, and I’d imagine Waiters would pull out an even more magnificent celebration if he had the opportunity on a bigger stage.
This kind of drama is what would make a series between these two teams very entertaining to watch. The Cavs traded Waiters back in 2015, so there must be a monster sized chip on his shoulder regarding that move. Also, I’m sure whatever is left of Miami’s fan base after James left would love to shower him with boo’s in a playoff series.
I can’t imagine that the NBA wants to see a third straight Finals showdown between Golden State and Cleveland. Kevin Durant’s injury will make the Warriors very vulnerable against a slew of deadly western conference contenders. If both teams go down before the Finals, wouldn’t that be great?
YES!
A Finals match that’s different!
