The Cavs Are Finally Experiencing Playoff Like Games

The Cleveland Cavaliers played games against the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat that will be similar to what they will experience in the playoffs.

Author:
Tommy Wild
Mar 11, 2023 12:50 PM EST

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There's been one big criticism for the Cleveland Cavaliers as they've played throughout the season. That's their inexperience in big games.

This is something that J.B. Bickerstaff, Donovan Mitchell, and other leaders on the team have talked about since training camp back in October. We're in March and Cleveland is finally getting to play in these tight, playoff-like games with an intense atmosphere.

The Cavs do have a number of players who have had limited experience in the playoffs. Mitchell never missed the postseason in his five seasons with Utah and Ricky Rubio has played a role in playoff series too. Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen, and Evan Mobley all got a taste of the playoffs last season when they lost in the play-in tournament.

But outside of these isolated situations, this Cleveland team does not have experience playing in these big moments together let alone an entire series. However, the last three games the Cavs have played have been the closest thing they've seen to this environment.

In the last week, Cleveland played the Boston Celtics once and the Miami Heat twice. These tight contests gave the Cavs a preview of the atmosphere they could play in come April.

Monday Vs. Celtics

The Cavs opened up the week on Monday against the Celtics. Boston was without three of their starters which forced Cleveland to make some adjustments as to how they were going to defend.

This kind of last-minute lineup change is common in the playoffs with coaches opting to play who's hot over what the lineup may have looked like during the year.

Cleveland struggled early on with these adjustments and found themselves down 14 points. But they eventually worked their way back late in the game and got the overtime win.

Back-To-Back With The Heat

Another challenge that playoff teams have to deal with is travel. This includes playing back-to-back games in the same city. The Cavs got a taste of what this was like when they traveled to Miami later in the week for games against the Heat on Wednesday and Friday.

In Cleveland's first matchup with the Heat, they pulled off a spirited win in which they spread out the scoring and locked Mimai with an incredible defensive performance from Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley.

Then they had to wait a day until they played again. In those 36 hours from the end of the game until the tip-off of the next, the Cavs learned they would be without their starting point guard in DG.

Mar 10, 2023; Miami, Florida, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers guard Ricky Rubio (13) takes a three-point shot as Miami Heat guard Max Strus (31) defends in the second half at Miami-Dade Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

This forced even more lineup adjustments against a team that they had just seen. Cleveland wasn't able to close out Friday night's game even after they opened up a double-digit lead. They learned what can happen when you allow the crowd and the opposition to build some momentum.