Heat, Cavaliers look to build on leads
The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers are both expected to win their respective series in the NBA’s Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
Miami is the third seed and taking on the Charlotte Hornets, a team with nice young talent but not quite the level of Dwyane Wade and Co. The Heat might be the biggest threat to the Cavaliers, who are currently opposing the eighth-seeded Detroit Pistons.
Both the Heat and Cavaliers are up 1-0 in their series and are looking to take a commanding hold on their opponents. If logic tells us anything, these should be quick series, especially in the case of Cleveland.
The Cavaliers need to make this series against Detroit four games. Cleveland has a ton of age on the roster, and the younger talent has been susceptible to injuries. LeBron James is getting older and could certainly use a little bit of rest before taking on either the Atlanta Hawks or Boston Celtics in the semifinals. The same can be said for Kevin Love, who missed the final three rounds of last year’s playoffs with a shoulder injury. Kyrie Irving might be young, but he is always on the mend from something. The less games, the better for the Cavaliers.
Meanwhile, Miami is definitely in the same boat. The Heat are trying to get into the second round with everybody having fresh legs. Wade has famously been tough to keep healthy throughout the last five years, always dealing with some kind of prolonged ailment. Without Wade, Miami would literally have almost no chance of winning another playoff series, whether it faced the Indiana Pacers or Toronto Raptors.
Ultimately, basketball fans should want the Heat and Cavaliers to advance deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs. Miami and Cleveland would be a dream matchup in the conference finals, with LeBron forced to face his old teammate and one of his best friends in Wade. While Cleveland would have the superior roster, Miami could at least hold up with Goran Dragic and Hassan Whiteside going against Love and Irving.
Frankly, this matchup might be the only thing that saves the Eastern Conference playoffs. Nobody particularly cares about any of the other teams in the gaggle, including the second-seeded Raptors who have talent in DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, but don’t move the needle among casual fans. The same could be said for the Atlanta Hawks who employ Al Horford, Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap, but are relatively an unknown.
This postseason is mostly about the Golden State Warriors but if we are focusing on the East, hope for Miami and Cleveland to meet.
