Last season without LeBron James, the Miami Heat struggled and ended up missing the playoffs thanks to injuries to Dwyane Wade an Chris Bosh. Now entering 2015, the Heat proved in their first win of the season that they no longer needed James to carry them. Now the original Big 3 are all back on the court together as both the Heat and the Cavaliers are pushing to be the top two teams in the Eastern Conference this season.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are 1-1 on the season as they deal with growing concern over James' back injury. The star was seen getting treatment courtside over the past two games after receiving an anti-inflammatory injection during the preseason. According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the issue might be worse than is being reported, but that will not stop James from putting in significant minutes against his former team.
The task for the Cavaliers is getting Kevin Love to repeat the success he has had over the past two games while making sure Richard Jefferson stays hot off the bench. James told the media that he wants the offense to go through Love right now especially with Kyrie Irving out with injury. In the team's win over Memphis, they got 50 points off their bench which was welcomed by James who admitted that took the pressure off his shoulders. Can Cleveland repeat that against Miami?
The Heat had a solid debut from their rookie Justise Winslow who is proving why a lot of teams before Miami should have drafted him. The forward capped his debut off with a ground-shaking dunk while Gerald Green led the team off the bench. He knocked down 5 of 8 from the bench as the Heat hit 12 of their 20 3-point attempts in their first win of the year.
Miami is benefitting from a healthy Wade and Bosh who struggled last year with various injuries. Both players made their presence known in the season opener while Hassan Whiteside carried the momentum gained from last season into this year. Players like Mario Chalmers gave big minutes off the bench to relieve the stars. Now they must prove they can be a consistent team hitting the road to Cleveland.
