The Cleveland Cavaliers are trying to advance out of the group stage of the NBA Cup for the first time. For them to do so, they’ll likely need to take advantage of a Miami Heat team that still hasn’t found its stride.
Miami has struggled to create any kind of positive momentum since trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo. Their offense hasn’t found a correct balance, as they’ve struggled to get consistent contributions from players outside of Giannis.
Things are worse defensively. They’re giving up the
fifth-most threes in the league, and opponents are hitting 40% of their outside looks against them (28th). You’re just not going to have a good defense if you’re struggling to contain the outside shot to that degree.
Cleveland picked up arguably their most impressive win of the season with a strong showing against the New York Knicks. We’ll see if they can back up that performance in Miami, even though they’ll be without the services of Evan Mobley (toe).
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Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (6-6) at Miami Heat (5-6)
Where: Kaseya Center – Miami, FL
When: Friday, Nov. 13 at 8 PM
TV: DAZN, NBA League Pass
Point spread: Heat -2.5
Cavs injury report: Evan Mobley – OUT (toe), Sam Merrill – OUT (elbow), Nae’Qwan Tomlin – OUT (back), Khalifa Diop – OUT (G League), Ernest Udeh, Jr. – OUT (G League)
Heat injury report: Giannis Antetokounmpo – PROBABLE (wrist), Pele Larsson – QUESTIONABLE (illness), Klay Thompson – QUESTIONABLE (ankle)
Cavs expected starting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Peyton Watson, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen
Heat expected starting lineup: Davion Mitchell, Klay Thompson, Pelle Larsson, Gianis Antetokounmpo, Bam Adebayo
Cavs jersey: White Association Edition uniform
Previous matchup: The Cavs split the season series last year. Cleveland won the last meeting 149-128 on March 27.
Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.
