Ty Jerome broke the patented Miami Heat zone late in the fourth quarter to secure a victory for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Game 1 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Jerome went six for seven from the floor as Cleveland shot just well enough to break the zone and make the Miami Heat sweat out a loss.
Cleveland officially has two All-Star guards in Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. However, the general consensus around Quicken Loans Arena is that they have three All-Star guards. And the third All-Star would be the sixth man of the year candidate Ty Jerome, who proved his worth by hitting four-pointers in the fourth quarter to fuel a Cavaliers win.
Cleveland had rolled up 44 points in the first two quarters and looked to be dominating a win when the Miami Heat threw a curveball and went back to their famous zone defense. The Cavaliers were not solving this zone defense. As the fourth quarter started, the Miami Heat had cut the lead down to five and looked to be doing this Miami Heat Magic and pulling out a win that they had no business winning. That’s when Ty Jerome stepped in and connected on four three-pointers to seal the win.
The Cavs had looked unstoppable in the first half. They were playing the way they have played so often in this magic regular season. The Cleveland Cavaliers, when they are on fire like that, are unbeatable. They have the look of a championship team to them. That is when Miami started playing chess and unveiled their zone defense.
The good news for the Cavs is that this is the best zone defense they will see in the entire playoffs. No one plays like the Miami Heat. The bad news is that the Heat zone made the Cavs look like they were back in college. Cleveland has the talent and the chemistry to break any zone defense that they may face in the playoffs. It is inexcusable that they did not break the Heat zone right away and secure the win right off the bat.
The problem in breaking a zone is that it requires consistent three-point shooting. The easiest way to force a team out of a zone defense is to hit your three-pointers. The Cavs were having their problems doing that. In the month of March, Cleveland has slipped from first and three-point shooting percentage to 19th. I am not too sure what the problem is, but that is going to have to be fixed. You know every coach in the NBA was watching this game and planning their zone defense if they face the Cavs. Cleveland is going to have to play better against zone defenses.
One takeaway from this game is that the Cavs don’t just have a big three. They have a big eight. Their top eight players are very essential to a championship run. There is no team in basketball that can match the Cavs’ top eight talent. Not even the Boston Celtics can match that. The Cavs not only have talent, but everyone knows their role, and everyone knows what’s expected of them. That can be tough to beat. That is exactly what beat the Miami Heat tonight. Although Ty Jerome deserves the credit for his heroics. The attitude and the chemistry behind the Cleveland Cavs won this game for them.
I really loved what the Cavs did on defense. Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland isolated on Tyler Herro and made him work for every point. The Cavs played man-to-man and dared Tyler Herro to beat them. The bottom line is he couldn’t do enough to beat them. Although he came pretty close.
The Cavs have a formula for beating the Heat. Pass the ball around until you have an open man and then hit open three-pointers. The Cavs are very good at this game. They have played at all season. It would be ideal for Cleveland to sweep Miami and be well-rested for the second round. The Cavs have the horses to run the entire race. They are going to need these horses to stay in shape. A couple of sweeps in the early rounds can really help a team out. We don’t want this series to even go five games. We want Cleveland to take care of business and sweep the Miami Heat.
The Cavs’ bad first-round exit at the hands of the New York Knicks from last year has to stick with the memories of their players. Cleveland cannot afford to play soft like they did last year. Game one is a sign that they are not playing so well. This game is a sign that the Cavs are finally ready for the bright lights of playoff basketball. They might have been a year away last year. That would make this year their year. You do not get that many chances to win a championship in the NBA. You cannot squander any chances to win championships in the NBA. The Cavs have to take this very seriously.
The bottom line is the Cavs started the playoffs as well as a team can start the playoffs. Game one has a lot of takeaways that point to a deep playoff run. But there is a difference between a deep playoff run and a championship run. And the Cleveland Cavaliers are going to have to know this difference if we are going to win a championship.
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