Editorial by Graydon Fox

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Prizes:

1st Place: $50 Amazon gift card

2nd Place: $20 Amazon gift card

3rd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 winners

1. Dwyait Gant (350 PTS)
2. Scott Metzdorf (300 PTS)
3. Lewis Lucero (300 PTS)
4. Leanne Silverthorne (300 PTS)
5. Jackie Cooper (300 PTS)

Overview:

On Tuesday, March 27^th, the (44-29) Cleveland Cavaliers will be on the road to take on the (39-35) Miami Heat.

The Crowd:  

“The Crowd” is projecting a final score of Heat 104.5 – Cavaliers 98.9 with an over/under of 203.4.

Statistics (2017-18 season):

Point differential: Cavaliers +0.7 (15^th) > Heat +0.3 (17^th)

Points per game: Cavaliers 110.9 (5^th) > Heat 103.3 (25^th)

Points allowed per game: Heat 103.0 (4^th) > Cavaliers 110.2 (27^th)

Field Goal Percentage Offense: Cavaliers 47.8% (5^th) > Heat 45.6% (18^th)

Three Point Percentage: Cavaliers 36.9% (7^th) > Heat 36.3% (15^th)

Field Goal Percentage Defense: Heat 45.3% (8^th) > Cavaliers 47.3% (28^th)

Turnovers committed per game: Cavaliers 13.5 (14^th) > Heat 13.6 (16^th)

Turnovers forced per game: Heat 13.6 (17^th) > Cavaliers 12.9 (26^th)

Rebounds per game: Heat 43.1 (19^th) > Cavaliers 42.0 (23^rd)

Assists per game: Cavaliers 23.6 (10^th) > Heat 22.6 (17^th)

Summary:

Cleveland completely overhauled their roster at the trade deadline acquiring Rodney Hood, Jordan Clarkson, Larry Nance Jr., and George Hill.  The Cavaliers are (12-7) since the trades averaging 114.6 points per game and allowing 110.6.  Cleveland is one of the highest scoring teams in the league but interestingly enough their defense hasn’t improved much statistically after all the changes.  Lebron James (27.4 PPG, 8.6 RPG, and 9.1 APG) is the league MVP in my eyes having started every single game and performing at an elite level despite injuries, roster turnover, and Ty Lue’s health issues.  Kevin Love (18.0 PPG and 9.3 RPG) has finally recovered from his broken hand and is producing at his typical All-Star clip.  It’s been interesting to see the Cavaliers transform from a top-heavy team with aging veterans to a deeper Lebron centered roster littered with quality role players.  Although undersized, Larry Nance Jr.’s (11.9 PPG and 8.1 RPG) length and athleticism have given the Cavaliers a defensive presence they previously lacked.  Jordan Clarkson (13.3 PPG) leads an impressive bench unit that ranks 6^th in scoring (41.5 PPG).

Miami has struggled of late going just (5-5) in their last ten games.  Dwyane Wade (13.2 PPG) has provided quite a spark for the Miami bench since being acquired at the trade deadline.  The Heat bench as a whole rank 10^th in bench scoring (39.6 PPG).  Miami is still led by All-Star guard Goran Dragic (17.7 PPG and 4.8 APG) and double-double machine Hassan Whiteside (14.3 PPG and 11.8 RPG).  Both Tyler Johnson (12.0 PPG) and Josh Richardson (12.9 PPG) have emerged as quality young wing players.  Dion Waiters (14.3 PPG) is one of the more gifted scorers in the league when he’s on but can really hurt the team when he isn’t.  Miami is definitely offensively challenged at times but they have been a top ten defensive team all season.  The Heat average 103.3 points per game (25^th) and allow 103.0 (4^th).

Bottom Line:

The Heat are (23-13) at home this season while the Cavaliers are (19-18) on the road.  The Cavaliers are (2-0) against the Heat this season defeating them in Cleveland 91-89 and 108-97.  Fun Fact: The Cavaliers have somehow lost 13 straight games in Miami!  That has to end at some point right? Cleveland has played excellent basketball during their current five-game winning streak averaging 122.2 PPG in that span.  Lebron has been playing some of his best basketball down the stretch as he makes a push for his fifth MVP.  I’m going against “The Crowd” and picking a red hot Cavaliers team to win again in Miami.

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