Heat Inferno: Can Miami's Culture Keep the Lights On Against Red-Hot Cavs?

This is actually a continuation match from last year's playoffs between these teams. However, it feels different this time. The Cleveland Cavs are on fire these days. They have a great record of 7-3, with four straight victories.  They are heavy 7.5-point road favorites against Miami, and they should be much higher than that. That's because Miami is literally running on empty.

Their injury report is like something out of war. They don't have Tyler Herro because he had surgery on his ankle. They don't have All-Star big man Bam Adebayo because his left big toe is bruised.  They have Dru Smith with a bruise on his right knee. Day-to-day means nothing. Let's all feel sorry for Coach Spo. He will have to rely on his legendary Heat Culture lineups to ensure his starting five can actually have a chance to win on any given night.

The bright side for Miami is that guys are coming up. Players such as Norman Powell, who is always willing to put up numbers. Powell has been playing well since Herro got hurt. That is why all bets are on over for his scoring prop tonight. Finally, Nikola Jovic showed hints of finally escaping the slump that has been plaguing him for the entire year in their match against the Blazers. That is going to have to happen for Jaime Jaquez Jr. as well. That kid is playing great, but I think he will have to do many other things for his team because it doesn’t have enough players.

Donovan Mitchell, on the other hand, is playing like a true MVP. He is scoring over 30 points a night, shooting well, and just leading his team on his back to score 148-114 over the Wizards a night or two ago. The Cavs have their roster relatively healthy. They now have Darius Garland playing, and it looks like Evan Mobley is a true two-way star. They only need Max Strus, but it looks like Larry Nance Jr. is having problems with his knee.

The Cavs have a great opportunity here to pick up a big victory at home against a team that it knows well, even if it is operating on empty. The only concern for the Cavs is that the Over/Under is 247.5. However, because it is clear that Mitchell is going all out with a team that will not have Bam, it should be Spida who people bet on.