The Miami Heat are widely expected to challenge the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference title this season. Friday night, we get our first taste of the matchup.
Heat (1-0) vs Cavaliers (1-1)
Where: Quicken Loans Arena
When: Friday, 7 p.m. ET
TV: ESPN, Sun Sports FL
The Miami Heat looked good in their opening game against the Charlotte Hornets, but they face a much tougher test against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Friday night, in a game of league-wide significance on national television.
Friday night’s game will tell us just how ready the Heat are to challenge the Cavaliers for the Eastern Conference title. Do they matchup well enough? Can Erik Spoelstra find a week spot to take advantage of? We’ll find out in one of the first high-profile games of the young NBA season.
Matchup to Watch: Chris Bosh vs Kevin Love
LeBron made headlines recently by saying Kevin Love will be the focal point of the offense. This sounds like the same atta boy stuff that LeBron said about Chris Bosh back in his South Beach days.
However, against the Memphis Grizzlies Wednesday, Love led the Cavs in points with 17. So far this season, he’s attempting 15.5 shots per game, second behind LeBron’s 17.5. It’s been just two games, but if LeBron is really intent on getting Love his shots, it could make for some added pressure on Bosh. Bosh will be defending him most of the game, and he’s the man to do it.
Love, however, isn’t known as a good defender. Bosh could take advantage on the offensive end. Whoever wins this matchup will have a head start to win this game, and expect much of the attention to be on these two stretch-4’s.
X-Factor: Luol Deng
Luol Deng is used to and usually up for the challenge of defending LeBron. The two have had their battles through the years, and recently it’s been LeBron getting the better of the aging Deng. However, that doesn’t erase the history and eagerness with which Deng will approach his assignment.
Let’s step away from that, however, and focus on when Deng is on offense. It’s no secret that LeBron has taken some defensive series off the last few seasons and Deng could take advantage of this. He’s a prime cutter to the basket, and is apt to sneak behind LeBron’s back when he isn’t looking for an easy score.
He’s also more willing to take 3s this season, which should stretch out LeBron to the perimeter in one-on-one matchups. LeBron is extremely underrated (can you believe that?) as an interior paint defender. He gets a ton of steals when the bodies are banging around, but putting him on an island keeps him out of passing lanes.
If Deng’s shot is falling like it was against Charlotte opening night (3-of-3 from long range), it bodes well for the rest of the Heat as they try to get to the rim.
Key stats:
(Take these with a grain of salt. It’s been just one or two games league-wide)
Heat offensive efficiency: 2nd, 111.5 points per 100 possessions
Heat defensive efficiency: 13th, 99.2 points allowed per 100 possessions
Cavaliers offensive efficiency: 16th, 100.5 points per 100 possessions
Cavaliers defensive efficiency: 3rd, 86.6 points allowed per 100 possessions
Last season’s series was split 2-2 with the home team winning each game
Last season the Cavaliers outscored the Heat an average of 102.5 points per game to 97 points per game in the series.