How do the 2014-15 Heat match up vs the 2014-15 Cavs?

[Enso]

Now that the love deal is official and the we have an idea of what the final rosters will be for both team. How do you guys think we match up vs the cavs? Would be cool if everyone chimed in and gave a little analysis.

I think we can exploit them offensively. We have a very versatile roster with Mcbob nd Bosh being able to both shoot 3's. Besides Lebron nobody on that team is really a defensive juggernaut. Love isn't exactly known for his D either.I don't think we get beaten up on the boards vs them to badly either. I know theres alot of hype behind Blatt but I think they will under perform on D.

What you guys think?

[aquaadverse]

We'll know in April.

[goodboy]

Wouldn't be bad as people make out to be... It will be an interesting match up for sure.

I also agree our D will be strong with the addition of Deng.

All narrows down to Bosh and Wade - If they pitch in 20+ (which I expect) We can stay up to par on Offence compared to them.

The + will be Granger, if he can come off the bench as a 6th option and give us good minutes that will be amazing, hes an x-factor/wildcard imo.

I would assume 3 point shooting for them will hit us hard, Love/Miller/Jones(allen?) So spacing will be VERY important, thats the only thing that will worry me on D.

[Maroko]

To me it depends on how we move the ball. If it's ISO and the offense is not fluid then we will lose because we wont exploit their weakness in defense.
I am confident enough that our defense can contain their offense.

Cole / Rio vs Irving
Wade vs Waiters
Deng vs LeBron
McRob & Bosh vs Love & Varejao

ok we might lose one game with a blowout if they hit their 3s and we dont.

If i was machiavellian (no i dont play at scrabble), i will lose the 4 games and beat them in the 1st round in playoffs
i dont want us to test them so they can fix their weakness during the regular season

[marson]

I agree, if we iso ball we lose, but if we take a page out of the Spurs playbook we can win.

[yungsin1]

To me it all depends on how McBob and Bosh mesh with each other. This is a deadly combo that teams are going to have a hard time covering.

[dancing2thabeet]

We're not keeping LeBron from scoring, but Deng and Granger can keep him from going ham and averaging 35 points on good percentage. We will have to contain others though, and staying home on the many sharpshooters. I think it will come down to Kyrie. If he can get past his man at will, we're in deep trouble. Enter: Norris Cole.
We have good defenders at evey spot, but we're gonna have to play physical as f*ck. A rim protecting C would also be welcome.
On offense, the clear answer is going to Bosh. There is no way Love is capable of defending him alone. Gotta punish the double teams, move the ball, make smart plays and hit our open shots. We have veterans and good passers all over the floor. Some penetration from our guards to exploit Irving's defense would be welcome too. Oh, and Wade going vintage.

[heat4life]

I don't have a doubt Miami will be able to defend with the best of them. I am more concerned about the offense. Are we the Indiana Pacers now? Cleveland is going to score. Besides defending, we would need to find a way to keep up with scoring. At the end of the day, the purpose of the game is to score more points than the opponent. I need to be convinced Miami can run an effective offense. If we can, then this can be a good matchup. Otherwise, Cleveland has the edge IMO (just like we had Indiana's the last few years).

[Wolfy1983]

They're better. Still I don't see them winning Jack. Irving is no Wade, hell he's not even better than a declining Wade and Love doesn't have the heart that Bosh does. That team will never win a title.

[RJM]

On paper, it's a series I could see going either 6 or 7. On the court...well...we'll see on Christmas.

[TRG]

Lets be real here they're clearly the better team.

I'd be content if we gave them a scare and took them to 7 games in a playoff series.

Would make a hell of a story if we actually beat them... would almost be as sweet as a championship.

[RexBoyWonder]

Yea they're better if healthy. We need Wade to be at peak condition to have a chance.

[narmerguy]

I think so much depends on the Bosh that we see. If Bosh is not playing like he's the #1 option, we will lose. We need Bosh to play with confidence and like he wants to dominate some folks. Wade's health is the second most important thing, if he's healthy and Bosh is playing like a man, we could probably split a few games.

[WinisKing]

Wade would torch them

[Sign5]

Too many ifs, a subpar Wade and Bosh against the Cavs will result in 5 game loss tops. Now if Wade regains health and plays ala '27 game win streak Wade' with Bosh playing like he's supposed to then the series would definitely go 6-7 close games.

Heat will be the better defensive team and will need to instill the defensive discipline that was lost in the last couple of years. It's definitely not out of the question for the Heat to return as a top 5 defensive team in the league pre-LeBron '08-1'0.

However, let's not be deluded, the Cavaliers are the top team in the East until proven otherwise. The West is a completely different story though, I see them really struggling against the top 3 teams in the West, mainly Spurs and Thunder.

[dolphinatik]

They are better only because of Lebron and out stubbornness with our approach. If we tighten up D and run better sets on offense I like our team. If we run small ball, are in pass it to Wade and Bosh and wait around more, and dont plug supermarket lane to the rim then we are still in trouble. Cavs are still a young team that hasnt figured it out except for Lebron so right now we are still better. I do believe that their coaching staff get them to eventually be the better team as long as Lebron doesnt interfere.

[Zasterror]

A lot of wildcards on our side will be the determining factor in whether we can compete against them or get curbstomp'd. Too many what-ifs to make a legit opinion but I'm hoping for the best.

[Enso]

I agree, if we iso ball we lose, but if we take a page out of the Spurs playbook we can win.

Yeah we've got solid pieces to compete. I think the system and health will be most important. Look at it this way if Thibodeau had this same roster I think people would call us the favorites in the east. Think about that for a second. Spo will never truly get his due until we wins without LBJ. Our sytem has to definitely revolve around ball movement because we have the pieces to play that way. Interesting times ahead.

[Enso]

We'll know in April.

Thanks for your input dude

[RJM]

They're better. Still I don't see them winning Jack. Irving is no Wade, hell he's not even better than a declining Wade and Love doesn't have the heart that Bosh does. That team will never win a title.

For a guy with not as much heart as Bosh did (keeping in mind he struggled with lottery teams in the Western Conference while Bosh wallowed in mediocrity in the weaker Eastern Conference), he sure puts up better scoring and rebounding numbers. Please tell me where this heart discovery came from.

Yes, Irving isn't Wade now, but Wade is declining and Irving will undoubtedly get better alongside LeBron James and Kevin Love in the coming years. A championship is very possible for that team, whether you like the fact that LeBron signed with them over Miami or not.

If Miami could do it, why not Cleveland? Love now has talent around him; I think it's time we sit back and watch without making extreme assumptions as though we had a crystal ball. Stop sounding so bitter.