Cavaliers’ Reaction To Colossal Loss To Heat

J.B. Bickerstaff and Georges Niang offer their views on the Cleveland Cavaliers' 37-point loss to the Miami Heat.

Losses don’t get much worse than the one that the Cleveland Cavaliers sustained when they took on the Miami Heat on Sunday evening. The Heat blew the Wine and Gold off the floor with a nearly 40-point victory. Cavaliers Head Coach J.B. Bickerstaff and forward Georges Niang each offered their perspectives on the loss.

Yes, it was an ugly night. No one is going to try and argue that. But Bickerstaff views this defeat as a product of a few weeks of tired players and a lengthy injury report, and he doesn’t believe this loss defines who his team is.

“I’m not going to take away what our guys have done to get us to this point,” Bickerstaff said. “This is uncharacteristic. It’s not who our team is. We just had a night where, collectively, it kind of caught up to us. But I will not take away what our guys have done and all the things that we’ve asked them to do with half your rotation out. We had a bad night. We’ll figure it out and get better tomorrow.”

Niang offered a similar view on the loss, while giving a blunt outlook on where the Cavs stand now. There are only 11 games left in the regular season, and there are more questions than answers on this Cavs roster.

Mar 24, 2024; Miami, Florida, USA; Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) passes the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers guard Caris LeVert (3) defends during the first half at Kaseya Center. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

“These games happen, where you get knocked out in the first half and you never can really get up and start scoring again. Those games happen in the NBA … We have to get back on track. No one is going to feel bad for us.”

The best thing the Cavs can do now is burn the film and move on. They play the second game of a back-to-back on Monday, as Cleveland hosts the Charlotte Hornets. Niang is urging his team to focus on that game not what happened in Miami.

“You’ve just got to have amnesia and flush this one. There is nothing we can gain from this. It’s in the past…”