The Miami Heat easily defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 122-101 on Saturday night.
It was the Heat’s second victory over the Cavaliers this season, ensuring Miami’s season series edge over the best team in the Eastern Conference. While the Heat gained some confidence in defeating a championship contender, they also remain in the hunt for the conference’s third seed, as they are a half-game behind the Atlanta Hawks.
For the entire second half the Heat led by over 30 points and never trailed in the win.
This was a dominating victory for a team looking for some momentum as it enters the final month of the regular season. Here are five takeaways from the Heat’s 122-101 victory over the Cavaliers:
1. The Heat Now Have Legitimate Three-Point Shooters
For a majority of the season, the Heat ranked as one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league.
While they still rank as one of the bottom five teams in the NBA with a .333 three-point shooting percentage, they have drastically improved since the addition of Joe Johnson and the emergence of Josh Richardson in the rotation.
Both Johnson and Richardson have become staples in the lineup over recent weeks and it’s no surprise Miami has benefited as a result.
Saturday night’s win over the Cavaliers was the perfect example of what Johnson and Richardson provide as shooters to this Heat offense. After Cleveland closed the deficit to just four points midway through the second quarter, Johnson and Richardson converted on three consecutive three-point shots to spearhead a 13-0 Miami run that gave the Heat a 51-36 lead.
Considering the league’s elite teams are comprised of the best three-point shooters the league has to offer, this duo will come in handy when the postseason rolls around.
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2. The Addition of Joe Johnson Makes the Heat Eastern Conference Contenders
When the Heat signed the 34-year-old Johnson in late February, the addition didn’t receive much attention.
The signing didn’t receive much attention because the veteran small forward literally looked like he was on his last legs—he had averaged just 11.8 points on a very inefficient 40.6 percent from the field in 57 starts with the Brooklyn Nets.
However, in 10 starts with the Heat, Johnson is averaging 15.5 points on a scorching 56.5 percent from the field.
Yes, his performance has literally escalated several notches due to a change of scenery and playing in a more up-tempo offense. Even if Chris Bosh is sidelined for the postseason, Johnson gives this team a legit second or third scoring option and makes the Heat a scary team in the playoffs.
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3. Josh Richardson’s Emergence Isn’t a Fluke
When one takes a look at Richardson’s overall per-game averages, they are nothing to write home about. The rookie shooting guard’s overall 2015-16 numbers are as follows: 5.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest.
However, if you take a look at Richardson’s per-game numbers over his past 10 games, you will see why he has become the second-best player off of the Heat’s bench. He has averaged 11.5 points on 56.6 percent from the field in 27.6 minutes per game in his last 10 appearances.
It wasn’t until the past month that the 2015 second-round draft pick became a staple of the rotation and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Since becoming a regular contributor on February 19th versus the Atlanta Hawks, Miami has gone 11-5.
The Heat’s bench is now considered a positive with both Richardson and Hassan Whiteside leading the second unit.
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4. The Heat Have a Short-Term Memory
In a battle for the Southeast Division lead on Thursday night, Miami blew a 15-point first-half lead in a home loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The defeat dropped the Heat from the third seed to the sixth seed in the conference.
Fast forward two nights later and Miami bounces back to defeat a team that is clearly the class of the East.
In doing so, no Cavaliers starter played more than 27 minutes in the game. Cleveland’s starting power forward Kevin Love was limited to 16 minutes because of foul trouble and ineffective play.
In other words, the Heat dominated the third-best team in the NBA just two nights after a heartbreaking defeat. This is the type of the resilience this team needs to have if they want to be taken seriously as contenders entering April.
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5. This Team Has a Legitimate Chance at Advancing Deep in the Postseason
Saturday night’s victory over Cleveland was just another display of how the Heat should be taken seriously as playoff contenders entering April.
Not only did they win the season series over the Cavaliers, it was their 11th straight home victory over Cleveland. It was also their 17th victory in their past 20 games versus the Cavaliers.
Just a week prior, the team had pushed the second-best team in the conference, the Toronto Raptors, to overtime. Although the Heat lost, they showed that they could compete against one of the conference’s elite teams with Dwyane Wade sidelined.
Miami is playing some tremendous ball since the All-Star break. While many pundits have focused on the absence of Bosh and aren’t paying any attention to the contributions of players such as Johnson and Richardson, this team has proven it might be the hottest team in the East entering the playoffs.
While no one will pick the Heat to advance to the NBA Finals, it is a reality when considering how the team has performed over the last month.
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