What To Expect In Second Cleveland Cavaliers-Miami Heat Matchup

In their last game, the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Orlando Magic by a score of 121-111 two nights ago.

Tonight marks the second regular season game added to the Cavaliers’ schedule for not making the NBA In-Season Tournament Quarterfinals.

Here are four things to expect in tonight’s matchup between Cleveland and the Miami Heat.

1. A Play-In Preview

If the NBA Playoffs started tonight, the Cavaliers would be facing the Heat on the road, like they are tonight, in an NBA Play-In Tournament game.

Both Cleveland and Miami are 12-9 entering tonight’s contest, as they currently hold the eighth and seventh seeds in the Eastern Conference, respectively.

2. No Evan Mobley

For the first time this season, the Cavaliers will be without young star forward Evan Mobley. Per the NBA’s 7:30 p.m. ET Injury Report, the 22-year-old will be out tonight due to left knee soreness.

On the other side, the Heat will be without star guard Tyler Herro (right ankle sprain) and star center Bam Adebayo (left hip contusion) due to injury tonight.

3. Cavaliers Seeking Vengeance

Cleveland will look to avenge their loss to Miami from earlier this season.

The Heat defeated the Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse by a score of 129-96 back on November 22.

4. Tough Cleveland Perimeter Defense

In its last game against Orlando, the Cleveland defense held the Magic to just 2-for-23 (8.7%) from three-point range. This was the Cavaliers’ lowest opponent three-point percentage since February 20, 2015.

Miami shot 20-for-35 (57.1%) from three-point territory in its last game against Cleveland, so the Wine and Gold should have a stronger emphasis on perimeter defense this time around.