Four takeaways from Cleveland Cavaliers win over Miami Heat

The Cleveland Cavaliers were shorthanded in Miami tonight, but the bench came together to pull off a feel-good win on the road.

Let's see what we learned from this one.

The Cavs are thinking long-term

One thing we learned from this game before it even began is that the Cavaliers have a long-term plan for this season, and it doesn’t include winning as many regular season games as last year. 

Darius Garland couldn't play because of a toe injury. But Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley could have played tonight. They didn't, because the Cavs had already planned days ago to use this as a rest opportunity before flying back to Cleveland and playing against the Toronto Raptors just 24 hours later.

Of course, the Cavaliers' bench was able to pull off a win anyway – but the Cavs still clearly signalled they care more about long-term health than the outcome of this particular game. 

Who can blame them?

The Cavs have seen previous seasons derailed by injuries and have dealt with various setbacks early in this one.  This is a marathon, not a sprint. And the Cavs are hoping they can make it all the way to the finish line this time around. Resting strategically is one way to improve your chances of staying healthy throughout a long season. 

This team is resilient

There are only a handful of things that you can control in life. One of them, if you happen to be an NBA athlete, is the effort you give on any given night. For this Cavs team, nothing short of maximum effort would be enough to compete in Miami tonight. 

The Cavs might have been run out of the gym if they didn’t show up and fight hard for 48 minutes. They approached this game with the appropriate energy level, keeping up pace with the Heat and exerting themselves on defense to make this a competitive game. In the end, they had played hard enough to pull away with a win.

Thomas Bryant embodied this. He knew that his teammates would have no excuse to slack off if he entered the game and played with energy. The veteran big man led by example tonight and helped change the momentum of this game in his limited minutes.

Luke Travers, Tyrese Proctor and Nae’Qwan Tomlin also deserve a mention. The bench unit turned things around in the third quarter and served as overwhelming positives in this inspiring victory. 

Craig Porter Jr. had a night

The Cavs don’t always have room in their backcourt rotation for Porter. This is a tough position for any NBA player. Being on the fringe of the rotation means that you’re never consistently on the court, but you’re always expected to be ready when called upon. 

Porter took advantage of his opportunity, playing with a purpose and energizing his squad throughout the night. He was everywhere, deflecting passes, dishing to teammates, blocking shots and grabbing rebounds. 

Porter finished with 19 points, 8 assists, 4 rebounds, 4 blocks and 3 steals in  a near 5x5 performance. Had Porter been successful, he would have been just the second player this decade to record a 5x5 (joining Victor Wembanyama) and the shortest player in NBA history to accomplish this feat. Maybe next time. 

Jarrett Allen deserves his flowers

When things go wrong, Allen is often the first Cavalier to receive blame. Sometimes that’s for good reason. But many times, it’s simply because he’s the easiest player to scapegoat.

That’s why it’s important to acknowledge when Allen not only does his job, but exceeds expectations like he did tonight.

Allen put together a monstrous two-way game, scoring 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as Cleveland’s best player. Allen shot 12-20 from the floor and punished the Heat for not having enough size to keep him away from the basket. 

This level of intensity isn’t something we see every night from Allen. But the truth is, he’s a positive far more often than he gets credit. Let’s make sure to give Allen his due praise tonight. He earned it.