James and the Cavs might have made the NBA Finals, but it is hard to argue that any team is more balanced and tough than the Heat this season. Think of it as the Kobe Bryant effect with the Los Angeles Lakers. It might be a focus or seriousness problem as James has alluded to a number of times, but it just might be that while Irving is out, the Cavaliers offense just isn’t varied and unpredictable enough.
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The Heat’s All-Star power forward, Chris Bosh, is having another stellar season with averages of 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds.
If it wasn’t Gerald Green soaring, it was Goran Dragic scoring. The Cavs will have played in Phoenix the night before and don’t play again until January 2.
The Cavs suffered their second consecutive defeat last Friday, falling to the New Orleans Pelicans in overtime 114-108 and also relinquishing the top spot in the Eastern Conference as they fell to 13-6.
Davis, who briefly exited the game with an injury scare, had 31 points and 12 rebounds.
Dwyane Wade had another efficient outing, finishing with 19 points on 8-of-14 shooting, five rebounds and four assists in 29 minutes.
In Dallas, James Harden scored 25 points after another rough shooting start against the Mavericks, and the Rockets pulled out a victory. Cleveland sits at 13-5 on the season. Cleveland has lost three straight games. The Cavaliers did not arrive in South Florida until 4:40 a.m.
We’re just thinking long term and being conscious of taking care of LeBron…
“He wanted to play, no question”.
Coach David Blatt shuffled his starting lineup before the game, inserting Matthew Dellavedova and removing Mo Williams, whose suspect defense has been an issue throughout the early part of the season.
While many fans in the building may have been looking forward to seeing James in action, they were treated to a solid game by the Heat.
The Miami Heat look for another statement victory after winning seven of their last 10 games. Believe me, it’s tough sitting him out.
“I can’t imagine flying back tonight with a loss”, Gallinari said.
Eric Bledsoe scored 22 points for the Suns, who are 1-3 on a six-game trip. Trailing the Cavaliers by 11 early in the game, they battled back to take a second-quarter lead and a double-digit margin in the third quarter.
“We want him to play as much as he can and as much as is manageable”, Blatt said, indicating that Saturday was not the start of a maintenance program. Following the impressive win, a beaming Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said, “A good professional win…I liked our guys’ approach”.
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But Gentry said unless General Manager Dell Demps informs him of any trades “all my energies and everything is going to trying to figure out how we can get this whole thing straightened out” with the players on hand. “But Jay doesn’t feel quite comfortable yet with that”. Miami is without Deng as said, and Amar’e Stoudemire is also out for the contest.
