Mateo’s Hoop Diary: “The schemes are on steroids in the playoffs”: The Heat got annihilated by the Cavaliers in Game 3

The Cavaliers were as hell-bent as starving Lions when they cornered their next meal. They mentally and emotionally deflated the Heat by crushing them in almost all areas for a 37-point win, taking a 3-0 lead in the series. Despite the Heat’s daring efforts, their season was lost as the visitors ripped off an insurmountable 33-5 first-half run. 

Jarrett Allen unsparingly punctured the defense with cuts plus had six second-chance points. Max Strus, De’Andre Hunter and Donovan Mitchell drained 10 3-pointers while the Heat struggled to find prosperity in the lane. It was as abusive as a freakishly long boxer, fighting off the back foot, destroying their tiny opponent with relentless jabs. 

Darius Garland, who smack-talked Tyler Herro after Game 2, didn’t play because of a toe injury, yet wasn’t needed as the Cavs were ahead 62-42 at halftime and later made it uglier. The Heat never cut the deficit below 15 in the second half, and Jaime Jaquez Jr. only got a look from coach Erik Spoelstra in garbage time.

The top two big men were Allen and Evan Mobley. The former had 16 points on an immaculate seven attempts before intermission, and the latter picked up where he left off after that with a post-up and face-up moves in the second. 

Bam Adebayo’s 22 points on 45% shooting, which included a career-high of seven 3-point attempts (four makes), wasn’t good enough, and he had four unforced turnovers.  To make matters worse, he suffered a dangerous fall after Haywood Highsmith accidentally took his legs out while in the air.  Herro got outplayed by Strus and was shut down with face-guard defense, denials and tight help coverage. 

As usual, the Cavaliers were bigger, stronger and faster. They ravaged the restricted area, shooting 12.1% above the league average. On top of that, they outrebounded the Heat by 17, and their defense held them to 76.2 points per 100 half-court plays (6th percentile), per Cleaning the Glass.

Spoelstra said it was a disappointing day. “We laid an egg today. A big part of it was Cleveland… from a tactical standpoint, I have to do a better job of helping our team offensively.”

Herro said he needed to be a better leader. Adebayo said the outcome was embarrassing and there’s no point in looking at film anymore. 

The Heat will practice Sunday. Game 4 is on Monday.