In their first meeting of the 2025 NBA playoffs, the Cleveland Cavaliers drew first blood from the Miami Heat. Kenny Atkinson’s team walked away with a 121-100 victory under their belt.
When speaking to the media after the game, Erik Spoelstra praised Cleveland’s offensive production and the threat the team poses. Spoelstra then admitted that his Heat team must figure out ways to limit Cleveland’s impressive offensive skill sets.
“You get to the playoffs, there are going to be dynamic offensive teams,” Spoelstra said. “And they have guys that drive and break you down off the dribble and they can also just shoot pull-up threes and they’re very good spot-up shooters, as well. So that’s the task and it’s up to us to figure out how to beat that.”
Four members of the Cavaliers’ roster finished the game with double-digit scoring. Ty Jerome was a major factor against Miami, dropping 28 points off the bench. If we’ve learned one thing from the opening game, it’s that the Heat must figure out a way to contain Cleveland’s offense, otherwise this series will be a short one.
Heat’s Tyler Herro Discusses Cavaliers Challenge
During his own postgame news conference, Tyler Herro discussed the challenge of containing Cleveland’s “historic offense.”
“They’re a historically good offense,” Herro said. “Obviously, they’re No. 1 in the East for a reason. I think we lacked a lot of communication, just mental errors that we can cover up. I think, obviously, the two days in between will give us time to watch film, have a practice and then clean up the things we need to clean up.”
Herro had a good game against Cleveland on Sunday, April 20. He ended the night with 21 points, three rebounds and two assists. However, as Miami’s primary scorer and playmaker, Spoelstra will need more from him. Herro must find a way to generate more offense for those around him. Unfortunately, that’s part of the problem with Herro not having an All-Star-level running mate.
“I just got to continue to be aggressive in finding my shots,” Herro said. “Obviously, they’re denying me and picking me up full court and just trying to make things tough. But we’ve faced that literally all year. I just got to be better.”
Cavaliers’ Darius Garland Praises His Team
After Cleveland’s win, Darius Garland praised his team’s “competitive spirit” when speaking to the media in his postgame news conference.
“Our competitive spirit,” Garland said. “We actually played for 48 minutes tonight, the full game. With sending in runs and actually coming back and swinging ourselves. So we can withstand the runs, of course. We rebounded the ball pretty well. I think that’s what can really carry over to Game 2. Try to limit them to one shot a possession instead of two or multiple, period. Keep loading on their main guys. Keep loading on Bam. Keep loading on Tyler. Keep loading on Wiggs and try to slow them down as much as we can.”
The Cavaliers certainly outplayed Miami in their first meeting. However, a playoff series is long. Spoelstra is one of the best coaches in the NBA, if not the best. He will have a game plan on how to adjust heading into game two. As such, the Cavaliers can’t rest on this win. They must learned how to continue attacking Miami’s weaknesses. Otherwise, this series could go far deeper than many expect it to.
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