Miami Heat Without Key Contributor Vs Cleveland Cavaliers In Game 1

Miami Heat forward Kevin Love is ruled out for Sunday's Game 1 against the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Love is listed out due to personal reasons.

Here's the game preview:

Game time: 7 p.m., Rocket Arena, Cleveland

Betting line: Heat +12.5, Odd Sharks

VITALS: The Heat and Cavaliers met three times this regular season with Cleveland winning the series, 2-1. The HEAT are 80-53 all-time versus Cleveland during the regular season, including 51-17 in home games and 29-36 in road games. The teams enter this postseason having never faced each other in the playoffs as Miami has faced every other Eastern Conference team in the postseason except Cleveland.

PROJECTED STARTERS

HEAT

G Tyler Herro

G Alec Burks

C Kel'el Ware

F Andrew Wiggins

F Bam Adebayo

CAVALIERS

G Donovan Mitchell

G Darius Garland

C Jarrett Allen

F Max Strus

F Evan Mobley

INJURY REPORT

HEAT

Kevin Love: Out - Personal Reasons

CAVALIERS

N/A

QUOTABLE

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the season: "We’ve been through a lot. We’ve all been through probably as much as a team probably can go through. And I really commend the team for finding a way to embrace the adversity. There were some uncomfortable moments when we were losing games, but it was bringing us closer together, which I really respect out of that locker room. And then we started playing our best basketball at the end of the season, after that losing streak.”

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