The Miami Heat head to Cleveland Monday to complete a home & home set against the Cavs. Does 2K see them victorious near the Mistake on the Lake?
The Miami Heat just retired Heat legend Dwyane Wade’s jersey with a three-day event concluding on Sunday. The Heat won the Jersey retirement game at home by a huge margin and even without Jimmy Butler, who we found out was going to miss the game due to personal reasons just a few hours before tip-off.
Head Coach Erik Spoelstra was quoted on the record before their previous game with Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald saying his now familiar and semi-famous catchphrase, “we have enough.” The only issue with that is that the first game was at home, apart of a big celebration, and missing Kevin Love who is now listed as probable.
Ira Winderman of the Sun-Sentinel reported Sunday afternoon that Jimmy Butler would miss his second straight game for personal reasons, as he didn’t travel with the team to Cleveland. This game won’t be easy. But the Heat must get a victory.
Jimmy Butler (personal reasons) not traveling with Heat to Cleveland for Monday's game. Tyler Herro (ankle) and Meyers Leonard (ankle) also remain out.
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) February 23, 2020
The Cavaliers now have two former All-Stars in their frontcourt, a place where Miami typically struggles with size and have a Head Coach in J.B. Bickerstaff that the players feel they can rally around after the John Beilein experiment went sour. The Cavs are currently dead last in the Eastern Conference but are still four-games behind the Golden State Warriors in the loss column when looking at the worst overall record in the NBA.
The Cavs don’t need a win necessarily, but I’m sure the players would love to have one and especially after Saturday’s beat down. There’s no better opponent than the fourth-seeded Miami Heat that are jockeying for position to give their hardest effort against.
If you want to see the simulation for yourself, the latest video on my YouTube channel will have the footage uninterrupted. There you’ll be able to see the adjustments I made.
Starting Lineup
Miami Heat
Point guard, Kendrick Nunn
Shooting guard, Duncan Robinson
Small forward, Derrick Jones Jr.
Power forward, Kelly Olynyk
Center, Bam Adebayo
Cleveland Cavaliers
Point guard, Darius Garland
Shooting guard, Collin Sexton
Small forward, Cedi Osman
Power forward, Kevin Love
Center, Andre Drummond
Outcome
Miami Heat 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 94
OUCH! Tough loss but the writing on the wall couldn’t be seen, of course, until the second half.
If you expected me to say anything different, then you must not know the Miami Heat or its digital counterpart. The Heat jumped out to a massive 15 point lead to start the game and I began to relax in my chair.
That was mistake number one. Things slowed down a bit in the second quarter, but the Heat just couldn’t stop fouling and gave up 31 points in the period. At the break and unbelievable so based on the Miami start, the score was 51-47, barely in favor of Miami.
Kelly Olynyk led the team in scoring through the first half with 14 points and as we all know, that is just not sustainable. The third quarter was pretty competitive, but the Heat still lost the frame 26-21, while giving up the lead headed into the fourth.
The Cavaliers survived Miami’s 11-2 run, before then going on a run of their own to tie the period and the game with about six minutes left. From that point on, Cleveland didn’t give up the lead again. A sad one-point loss for Miami on a night that I’m sure Heat nation thought they had the victory in the bag.
Player stats
Miami Heat
Bam Adebayo – 20 points, 13 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block
Kendrick Nunn – 14 points, 2 rebounds, 10 assists
Kelly Olynyk – 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2steals
Goran Dragic – 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals
Duncan Robinson – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal (fouled out)
Cleveland Cavaliers
Kevin Love – 19 points, 16 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Andre Drummond – 13 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks
Collin Sexton – 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal
Kevin Porter Jr. – 11 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal,1 block
Cedi Osman – 10 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
This loss is on me. As I mentioned a few games back, I adjusted Adebayo’s attributes and tendencies as a nod to his All-Star berth and Skills Challenge victory.
It appears that I have adjusted too much as the first time All-Star attempted EIGHT 3-pointers as the teams’ number one scoring option. Sure, he made two of them, but that many attempts from him might be a bit unacceptable.
I’ll make some adjustments next game, but the Heat do need to watch out for the boards. They lost the rebounding battle in the sim, and that’s most likely an accurate depiction of real life. We hope the real-life picture is different from the one painted here.