Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat: Postgame Grades and Analysis
LeBron James brought his Cleveland Cavaliers to South Beach on Monday, and the Miami Heat inflicted a merciless beatdown on their former leader with a 106-92 trouncing.
A 13-0 run late in the first half put the Heat up by 17 points, and they led by more than 20 for much of the second half. LeBron struggled despite finishing with 26 points, and Dwyane Wade—the other member of the former dynamic duo—shone with a 32-point performance.
Kevin Love (rest) sat out, and the remaining Cavaliers looked punchless throughout the game. The 38 points scored through two quarters marked their worst first half of the season. Only a meaningless run in the game's waning minutes reduced the deficit to the 14-point margin at the horn.
The win moved the Heat to 30-36 on the season, which is the exact same record as the Indiana Pacers and Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference's logjam between seventh and ninth place.
| Goran Dragic | A- |
| Dwyane Wade | A |
| Luol Deng | B+ |
| Chris Andersen | C+ |
| Hassan Whiteside | B+ |
| Rest of Team | B+ |
| Kyrie Irving | B- |
| J.R. Smith | C |
| LeBron James | C+ |
| Tristan Thompson | C |
| Timofey Mozgov | C |
| Rest of Team | C- |
Miami Heat
Dwyane Wade, Shooting Guard
D-Wade scored 21 points—in the first half.
The game might as well have ended at the half, but Wade soldiered on and even played down the stretch in the handy win, totaling 32 points on 13-of-18 shooting. He also embarrassed the Cavs by snagging five steals, accounting for more than one-third of the team's 14 turnovers.
Wade owned one sequence late in the first half, as he stripped LeBron on a drive and then finished off a tough reverse layup to put his team up by 19 points.
Oh, and Wade also connected on a behind-the-back bounce pass to Goran Dragic to save a loose ball and hit the runner in stride. A blocked shot ruined the highlight, but wowee zowee!
Grade: A
Goran Dragic, Point Guard
Goran Dragic helped set the tone early with four first-quarter assists. He logged a game-high 40 minutes on the court, producing steadily and efficiently.
When the Heat finally let him sit down for the night, Dragic had 20 points, nine assists, five rebounds and two steals. Combined with Wade and Mario Chalmers, Dragic and the Heat backcourt trio put up 68 points.
Grade: A-
Hassan Whiteside, Center
Hassan Whiteside did not get himself ejected from the game, so of course he double-doubled and blocked multiple shots. He notched 16 and 11 with three swats as well, but his most important play of the night could have been not reacting when Tristan Thompson pulled him down while contesting for a rebound.
Whiteside had gotten himself ejected from games for brawling with Phoenix Suns center Alex Len and trucking over Boston Celtics stretch 5 Kelly Olynyk. It shows some maturity and consideration for his teammates that Whiteside did not add to his MMA resume.
Grade: B+
Luol Deng, Small Forward
In LeBron's first visit back to Miami on Dec. 25, Luol Deng nearly had a triple-double with 25 points, eight boards and eight assists.
He didn't come close to that, but he did play 37 minutes of the win, scoring 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting and seven rebounds. His three assists actually tied him for the second-highest total on the team.
Deng worked his tail off to stay with LeBron all night, and while it was a team effort, Deng's discipline and hustle kept LeBron relatively bottled up.
Grade: B+
Chris Andersen, Power Forward
"The Birdman" was happy to see his old buddy "Bron Bron," and he showed absolutely no fear against the four-time MVP, even stepping out, guarding James beyond the three-point line.
Sure, Chris Andersen only had four points, three boards and a block, but the old guy's still got it!
Grade: C+
Rest of Team
Mario Chalmers was so locked in from the floor even his passes went into the basket. One made basket looked an awful lot like an attempted lob to Whiteside that came up short—and fell into the cylinder.
Chalmers ended with 16 points, three dimes, a steal and a block in a strong effort off the bench.
Michael Beasley only scored four points, but he played some very tough defense on LeBron at times, sticking it to the "King" in his return to D-Wade's kingdom.
Henry Walker only scored three points and fouled out in only 24 minutes, but his seven rebounds helped the Heat post a plus-13 advantage on the glass.
Udonis Haslem started and did not score in his 17 minutes, but he did manage to record two assists.
Grade: B+
Cleveland Cavaliers
LeBron James, Small Forward
LeBron James had a sour return to Miami once again, failing to avenge the Cavs' 101-91 loss in Miami back on Christmas Day. James tweaked his knee in an awkward fall during Sunday's win over the Orlando Magic, so perhaps that balky knee accounts at least in part for James' off night.
At halftime, LeBron had seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, one assist, zero rebounds and two turnovers. Heat coach Erik Spoelstra knows well the tendencies of his former superstar's game, and the defensive game plan put King James in a torture chamber.
He still posted 26 points on 8-of-19 shooting, but 16 of those points came in the fourth quarter—by which point the Heat had built a sturdy lead.
LeBron also had some issues on defense, and the Heat shot 64 percent in the first half to just 36 percent for the visitors.
Also, with the game broadcast nationally on ESPN, many people on Twitter complained that they cannot find LeBron on the court since he's not wearing a headband.
While his physique is significantly different from virtually every other Cavalier, it takes a little more visual sleuthing to find him now. (It's like the opposite of when the New York Knicks had Carmelo Anthony and Kenyon Martin both wearing headbands on the court simultaneously.)
Perhaps LeBron needs that headband back.
Grade: C+
Kyrie Irving, Point Guard
Kyrie Irving got his fair share of points, but that was helped by repeatedly making his way to the foul line. He still scored 21, but his Heat check came back negative, as he missed 10 of his 15 shots.
Irving dished six assists, but the Cavs offense never got in rhythm and ended on just 38 percent shooting. All too often, Irving and James got disrupted on their drives, and the Heat defense succeeded in forcing the team to resort to perimeter jumpers.
Grade: B-
Timofey Mozgov, Center
Despite scoring in double figures, Timofey Mozgov failed to prevent the Cavs from getting slaughtered on the boards with Kevin Love resting. The Russian center only came up with 10 points and five boards when his numbers should have seen a boost from Love's absence. And he can't really blame Tristan Thompson for taking all the opportunities.
Then again, Mozgov can't bear too much blame. The Cavs got outrebounded 45-32 largely because their shooting was 17 percent worse than Miami's.
Mozgov also did not block a shot, and oddly the only two Cavs starters to record a block were the two guards.
Grade: C
J.R. Smith, Shooting Guard
The Cavs could have used a "J.R. Swish" kind of night from J.R. Smith, but they didn't get one. He did hit two three-pointers, but he came up with just eight points on eight shots.
He's a feast-or-famine kind of player, and Monday night was a little like being lactose intolerant in a cheesemonger's shop. Smith recorded a game-low minus-20 differential on the court.
Grade: C
Tristan Thompson, Power Forward
Tristan Thompson tried to get Whiteside irritated, but it didn't work with the Heat dominating on both ends.
The Cavs needed someone to step up as a tertiary scorer behind James and Irving, and Thompson couldn't find much to work with in the paint. He did grab a team-high eight boards, but that's not a very high team high. His seven points on eight shots would ideally come more efficiently than that.
The 24-year-old power forward is still learning on the job, but the clock continues to tick on the No. 4 pick from the 2011 draft.
Grade: C
Rest of Team
Iman Shumpert had a strong effort off the bench with seven points and four rebounds. He also pilfered four steals like a cat burglar.
James Jones attempted eight three-pointers and only made two, so perhaps the whole returning-to-Miami voodoo affected Jones just as it did James.
Matthew Dellavedova did not record a field goal, but he drew three of a kind with two points, two dimes and two steals.
Shawn Marion scored five points in nine minutes, and at that rate, David Blatt should've played him for all 48.
Grade: C-
What's Next?
The Cavaliers head home for a brief two-game homestand against the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday and the Indiana Pacers on Friday.
The Heat stay home to soak up some rays while they prepare for the Portland Trail Blazers and Denver Nuggets on Wednesday and Friday.
