The Miami Heat came into Wednesday’s game against the Cleveland Cavaliers with a cloud of bad news already hovering above them. Facing off against, arguably, the tallest and longest starting lineup and rotation in the league in the Cleveland Cavaliers, they would be without their star big man, Bam Adebayo.
Not only was that for this game though, but reportedly for the next 4-6 weeks after surgery on his thumb. Though they would get Tyler Herro back into the lineup, Jimmy Butler still wouldn’t be going with the tailbone injury he sustained against the Chicago Bulls.
To get right to the point, the Miami Heat never had a shot. From the opening tip in the opening period, they were down and out of this game.
They were on the wrong side of the first period tally, 31-16, never getting much closer than 15 in closing the gap for the rest of the game.
The Miami Heat were held under 90 points by the Cavaliers on Wednesday. Not having Bam and Jimmy hurts, but everyone else can’t also be bad too.
They really missed Jimmy Butler on the night, but as indicative by the Cavaliers’ 14-4 block disparity, they really missed Bam Adebayo’s size too.
That’s something they’ll have to get accustomed to over the next month or so, but it is encouraging that Dewayne Dedmon played well. He finished the game with 11 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and two blocks.
He is no Bam Adebayo, but showings like this one can help offset the loss that is Bam and his production. That’s especially the case when Jimmy Butler is back in the lineup.
Tyler Herro led the team in scoring, finishing with 21 points, a rebound, and six assists on 9-23 from the field and 2-7 from range. Duncan Robinson finished with exactly zero points though.
He ended his 69 game streak with, at least, one made three. Kyle Lowry was not good either, only finishing with seven points, four rebounds, and four dimes.
This team won’t be this bad when Jimmy is going, but losing Bam certainly hurts a ton. This game was the most vivid example of what not having a guy like Bam can mean though.
With opposing size, they’ll get pummeled and perhaps like this one. This was their worst defeat of the year, 26 points.
That goes double if they can’t score the ball themselves.