The Cavs rebounded from a troubling loss at Detroit _ Cleveland gave up 125 points to the undermanned Pistons _ and prevented the Heat from overtaking them for third place in the Eastern Conference standings. Domantis Sabonis scored 10 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists. These teams have been mediocre thus far and have not performed up to their preseason expectations as some have minor holes or flaws here and there that hold them back from being real title contenders. Butler was drafted by Miami and played three seasons there. The team’s second-leading scorer and top rebounder won’t have much time to get ready for the playoffs.
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Six players are averaging at least 10.7 points per game for Cleveland, they are LeBron James (26.7), Kevin Love (17.9), Isaiah Thomas (15.6), Derrick Rose (11.9), Dwayne Wade (11.2) and Jeff Green (10.7). Marco is a deadly shooter and a slightly better version of JR Smith, so he could even start for the Cavs if they offer a couple 2nd rounders to get him.
The veteran center hasn’t reclaimed a rotation spot after missing the start of the season while serving the remainder of a 20-game suspension.
In their last five games, Miami is 4-1 ATS with 4 unders and 1 over.
The Heat’s offense struggled, shooting 3-of-28 from 3-point range and committing 20 turnovers.
“We don’t have [trust] at all on that end of the floor”.
Love has been replaced on the All-Star team by Heat guard Goran Dragic. Quality defense is starting to become a trend for Miami, as it entered Wednesday with the league’s second-best defensive rating since January 20.
Tomas Satoransky celebrated a career-high 19 points as the Washington Wizards beat the Orlando Magic 115-98, while Karl-Anthony Towns claimed his 47th double-double as the Minnesota Timberwolves overcame the New Orleans Pelicans 118-107.
Currently, there are only three teams allowing more paint points per game than the Cavs, per nba.com.
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Lue said his starting lineup could change on a game-to-game basis because of matchups. He didn’t play particularly well against Andre Drummond and the Detroit Pistons earlier this week, and had a dismal offensive rating of just 25 against the Miami Heat after that in which he did play better defense, though. However, a deal will be hard because he has two more seasons remaining on the $72-million contract he signed in the summer of 2016. They are just 1.5 games ahead of the Miami Heat who have been an afterthought by most National Basketball Association teams this season sitting at 29-19 for the season. On the season, Miami has lost by an average of 0.6 points.
