Monday NBA Roundup: Heat Look Like Dangerous Playoff Opponent for LeBron's Cavs
Everybody already wanted to see it anyway, but a potential first-round matchup between the Miami Heat and LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers is starting to look intriguing for reasons beyond its emotional stakes.
The Heat smashed a weary, wounded Cavs club on Monday, and the 106-92 result was loaded with hints that Miami could give Cleveland a real run in a series.
Dwyane Wade, who scored a game-high 32 points on just 18 shots, saw the same thing, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press:
Though he played just 31 minutes, Wade had more than enough time to flash his patented scoring smoothness and log a few highlights.
It's probably a stretch to say Wade was out to prove to LBJ that for all of Kyrie Irving's 50-point outbursts, old No. 3 will always be the most talented teammate King James could ask for. It wasn't a message or anything quite so dramatic.
More of a reminder, maybe.
The caveats that apply to Cleveland's performance are many.
The Cavs were playing the tail end of a back-to-back set, James was clearly still smarting from a knee tweak he suffered on Sunday, and Kevin Love missed the contest entirely with back spasms. For those reasons, this matchup didn't offer a thorough preview of how the Heat and Cavs might look in a postseason series.
There were telling glimpses, though.
Goran Dragic contributed 20 points, nine assists and five rebounds, and it was clear that his presence added a new ingredient to the Miami mix. With Iman Shumpert as their only decent backcourt defender, the Cavs don't have enough capable bodies to contain both Wade and Dragic.
Not only that, but Hassan Whiteside also got all he wanted inside. He scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, putting on moves in the post and looking noticeably stronger than either Timofey Mozgov or Tristan Thompson.
If Whiteside's emotions are in check, the Cavs don't have an answer for him, either. It's no mystery why Miami dominated the interior, as Reynolds highlighted:
Earlier, we skipped over the emotional component of James' new team facing his old one. It didn't look so easy for LeBron himself to ignore that angle.
He was pressing from the start, taking and making a tough runner on his first touch but slumping badly for most of the night afterward. He pounded the dribble, killed Cleveland's ball movement and appeared generally frustrated as a result.
James, who scored 26 points, isn't going to play himself out of an entire series, and we should expect him to be healthier in April. But it was clear that for all of the professionalism and good vibes between him and the Cavs after his exit, it still means something extra when he plays the Heat.
Why else would he stay in a long-since-decided game down to nearly the final buzzer? Other than for the 10 points James scored in a flurry with less than five minutes to go—none of which impacted the result.
James isn't the only one who appreciates the significance of the matchup, as Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra explained to reporters (via Jason Lieser of The Palm Beach Post):
Hoping for a postseason meeting between these two teams is one thing. Expecting it is another.
Miami is locked into a virtual three-way tie with the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers for the final two spots in the East. With Cleveland looking steady at No. 2, the Heat will have to outplay Indy down the stretch to secure that seventh spot.
Though Miami looked fearsome in its win, Indiana has been one of the league's best teams over the past couple of months.
Still, a Cavs-Heat playoff series is worth dreaming about.
Based on what we saw Monday, it could be a nightmare for Cleveland.
Around the Association
The Nuggets Are Restless
The Denver Nuggets made sure their winning streak ended at four, benching Kenneth Faried, Danilo Gallinari and Ty Lawson in a 92-81 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday.
None of those players were injured or in need of rest, as Chris Dempsey of The Denver Post explained before the game:
Read between the lines there, and it's clear what Dempsey is saying (without really saying it): Neither the players nor head coach Melvin Hunt were behind the decision. That leaves management.
After the loss, in which the Nuggets battled gamely, Wilson Chandler sounded off, removing any doubt about the reasons behind the DNPs, via Dempsey:
Denver will not make the playoffs this year, and it wouldn't be the first team to work toward better lottery position at this point in the season. The Nuggets decision-makers are simply acting according to the incentives that exist—albeit not subtly and in a way that clearly irks the players.
The Nuggets had turned a corner since firing Brian Shaw. Hunt had them playing hard—with pace and purpose. Hopefully, this latest development doesn't erase all that recent progress.
Finally, Some Certainty
The Oklahoma City Thunder's loss meant the Golden State Warriors clinched a playoff berth regardless of the outcome of their tilt against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday. Side note: The Dubs won, 108-105.
The team's official feed was ready with a graphic:
And Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle caught a glimpse of some new apparel that made its way into the team store during the game:
It's almost as though the 53-13 Warriors saw this coming.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia 76ers' 108-89 loss to the Boston Celtics officially eliminated them from playoff contention. There wasn't as much outward celebration in Philly's case (or any at all, actually), but everyone's aware this was the goal all along.
The Atlanta Hawks, who defeated the Sacramento Kings, 110-103, clinched their playoff spot on March 4, so they don't really belong here. But this gives us an opportunity to mention they recorded their franchise-best 23rd road victory on Monday.
Good for them.
Onward and upward.
John Wall Leads by Example
The Washington Wizards rose and fell with John Wall during an altogether too tense 105-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
An early offensive surge, aided by Portland's fatigue-induced defensive indifference (the Blazers were on the second leg of a back-to-back set), allowed Wall and the Wizards to run up a 20-point halftime lead. Unfortunately, when Wall let off the gas in the third quarter, the rest of the Wizards coasted right along with him, as Kyle Weidie of TruthAboutIt.net observed:
Portland hit 11 of its 16 shots in the third quarter and turned a blowout into a tight contest down the stretch.
Fortunately for the Wizards, Wall doubled down on the effort plays, culminating with this deep dive into the stands to save a loose ball:
Wall finished with 21 points, 11 assists and nine rebounds in 41 minutes.
The key to Wall's growth in the last couple of years has been recognizing how to play at different speeds. For Washington's sake, it'd be best for him to stay in fifth gear when it comes to intensity.
Closing note: Robin Lopez, serial mascot batterer, struck again, via Adam McGinnis of TruthAboutIt.net:
His intensity never wanes when it comes to his true passion: terrorizing grown men in fuzzy suits.
Kyle Lowry Makes Wise Fashion Choices
There's going to be a petition in Ontario demanding that Kyle Lowry stick with the headband from now on.
The Toronto Raptors beat the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 117-98 on Monday, making it a clean 3-0 sweep this season. Lowry, sporting a headband for the first time all year, notched a triple-double with 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.
The power of Lowry's headwear is remarkable. It overcame the trends both Toronto and Indiana had been on for the past six weeks. The Pacers came into the contest with a 13-3 record since Feb. 1, while the Raps were just 6-12 in that same span.
No matter. Lowry's headband led to his fifth triple-double as a Raptor, extending his franchise lead, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
Stranger things have sparked turnarounds in the NBA. Maybe the Raps are ready to snap out of their funk.
Jazz Squash the Bugs
It's rare that a 28-point win undersells the severity of a beatdown, but the Utah Jazz's 94-66 extermination of the Charlotte Hornets is one such case.
Utah stifled Charlotte to within one point of this season's single-game scoring low, spending a huge portion of the second half with a lead that hovered in the 40s before basically giving away the fourth quarter. If the Jazz wanted to, they could have turned this into a 50-pointer.
Rudy Gobert piled up 22 rebounds, Rodney Hood set yet another career high with 24 points, and Utah held the Hornets to 29.5 percent shooting from the field.
It was a thorough annihilation—one that dropped Charlotte out of playoff position in the East and gave the Jazz their sixth consecutive win. Despite playing as well as anyone over the past six weeks, Utah is still 6.5 games shy of the No. 8 seed.
If there's ever a case to be made for conference realignment, expect the box score from this one to be Exhibit A.
Thunder Running Out of Bodies
The Dallas Mavericks took advantage of a banged-up Thunder team missing Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant, following up their impressive 30-point win over the Los Angeles Clippers on March 13 with a 119-115 triumph on Monday.
Russell Westbrook put up 24 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds but joined center Steven Adams in fouling out. Without Ibaka or Adams on the floor, Enes Kanter's complete inability to defend the rim was exposed, and Dallas had no trouble scoring down the stretch.
Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman noted another of Kanter's blunders:
Chandler Parsons scored 31 to lead the Mavs, punctuating his evening with a driving slam.
OKC retained possession of the No. 8 spot in the West, but with more key players going down and holes in the rotation being exposed, maintaining playoff positioning won't be easy.
