Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction: Sloppy Heat takes on Mitchell's threat

The NBA story for this Regular Season has moved towards the last quarter and in this crucial period, a lot of crucial storylines are developing. There are teams that can’t afford to go on losing streaks at this point because it will dent their progress to reach either the Playoffs or the Play-in phase. One of those teams that are desperate to get into the six, the Miami Heat takes on Playoffs bound Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Heat and the Cavaliers just played a couple of days ago. In that game, the Cavs won 104:100 as Darius Garland rolled in 25 points and seven assists. For the Heat, Jimmy Butler’s 28 points outing wasn’t enough. This was expectedly a low-scoring team as both teams have a defensive mindset and are methodical offensively. The Cavs were the top-squad because unlike Heat, they have showcased the ability to pinch close wins. The Heat has a lot of soul-searching to do.

The Heat has two wins in three games but in an extended window, they have seven losses in ten losses. They have 35 wins and 32 losses in total and while they have a chance to breach into the top-six, it will take a big winning streak to reach there. This has been an underwhelming season for Miami, largely due to their offensive woes. After finishing at the top of East and taking the eventual Finalists Celtics to seven games in the East Finals, this has been an underwhelming season for Miami.

On the other hand, the Cavs have three wins in a row and are having a strong season. The Donovan Mitchell experiment has brought wonderful results while the defensive identity built last season has translated this season as well, and the team is unarguably the best defensive team in the league, thanks to a superb switch-defense. The Cavs will enter the Playoffs with big expectations because their play is well-suited for such scenarios.

The Cavs and Heat had an intense battle just a couple of days ago. This can be a similar type of affair and despite playing at home, Miami can once again find themselves on the rop. I slightly favor the Cavs here and predict a scoreline of 107:102 in Cavs’ favor.