The Cleveland Cavaliers begin their two-game trip in Miami.
The Cleveland Cavaliers get an early taste of the playoffs with consecutive games on the road against the Miami Heat. Winning both, or at least splitting the pair, will be important for the Cavs as they look to hold onto the fourth seed. Cleveland enters tonight two games ahead of the New York Knicks for the fourth seed in the East.
Miami had high hopes after finishing with the best record in the East last year but has fallen to seventh this season. They still pack a punch with Bam Adebayo, Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro but have seen little help from their supporting cast. Joining the ranks recently is Kevin Love, who is expected to bring additional floor spacing and depth to the frontcourt.
This will be Love’s first game against his former team if he is available to play. Love is currently questionable but could appear tonight or on Friday when the Cavs and Heat play once again.
As for the Cavs, Donovan Mitchell is just one three-pointer away from setting a single-season franchise record. J.R. Smith holds the record with 204 total threes during the 2015-16 NBA season. Mitchell will likely pass Smith tonight and is on pace to finish the season with more than 250 three-pointers, a career-high.