Miami Heat: And By ‘Tall Task’, There is No Pun Intended, They Are Huge
You also shouldn’t forget about Lauri Markkanen and Kevin Love, two more of Cleveland’s bigs who characteristically share more of a finesse style of play. Love obtained the first and only NBA title of his career with the Cavaliers in 2016, while after several months of possible buyout discussions, the 33-year-old has returned with the organization for his eighth consecutive season.
With Miami currently dealing with injuries, they’ll need to combat Cleveland’s length, but also the sheer talent of their big men.
While the Heat have seen success by sending multiple defenders to rebound, protecting the rim against a team that gets nearly 30 percent of their shots from inside only becomes a larger emphasis.
While Adebayo has participated in each of his previous six games, he’s been dealing with knee tendinitis and even suffered a hand injury during Monday’s loss against Denver. As the Heat also remains without Markieff Morris, who continues to miss time with a neck injury, this puts head coach Erik Spoelstra in a precarious position.
He may have to hand extended minutes to the veteran, Dewayne Dedmon, and possibly unlock the 41-year-old reserve Udonis Haslem for spot minutes again. Neither of those decisions is exactly favorable though.
Although Omer Yurtseven, who is limited in NBA experience, is still on the end of the bench, it could be worth chancing an undrafted player for a typical NBA regular-season game in December.