Miami Heat Vs. Cleveland Cavaliers Statistical Showdown

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Mar 18, 2013; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) is guarded by Boston Celtics forward Jeff Green (8) during the fourth quarter at TD Banknorth Garden. The Miami Heat won 105-103. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

Oy. The Cavaliers, coming off a poor defensive showing against the Pacers, now get the 2nd-most offensively efficient team in the league, and oh yeah, that team just happens to be riding a 23-game winning streak and features the best player in the league having his best statistical season. Also, the Cavs look to be without Dion Waiters tonight, who the team stated has loose cartilage in his left knee. At least this is at home.

Statistics

	Points	Points Allowed	Assists	Assists Allowed	Rebounds	Rebounds Allowed
Cavaliers	97.5 (16th)	101.3 (26th)	20.6 (27th)	24.0 (26th)	40.7 (25th)	42.0 (13th)
Heat	103.5 (5th)	95.9 (8th)	22.8 (15th)	20.5 (5th)	38.5 (30th)	40.1 (3rd)

Advanced Statistics

	Offensive Efficiency	Defensive Efficiency
Cavaliers	105.3 (17th)	109.4 (27th)
Heat	112.6 (2nd)	104.3 (10th)

Four Factors

	eFG%	Free Throw Rate	Turnover Rate	Offensive Rebound Rate
Cavaliers	47.6% (25th)	20.7% (14th)	12.9% (5th)	28.5% (8th)
Heat	54.8 (1st)	22.3 (7th)	13.3% (8th)	22.4 (26th)

Players to Watch:

Cavaliers-Tristan Thompson, forward

1. Shooting 50% in last 5 games (47% on the season)

2. Shooting 52% for the month of March

3. Grabs team-leading 17% of team rebounds

Heat-LeBron James, forward

1. Coming off a 37 point, 7 rebound, 12 assist effort Monday @ Boston

2. League Leader in field goals made (663) and PER (30.9)

3. Shooting a career-high 55.5% from the field and 38.9% from three

Key Matchup: Alonzo Gee vs. LeBron James

Gee’s a decent defensive player, probably one of the best that the Cavaliers have, but this is going to be a rough matchup for him. If the Cavs want any chance at ending this 23-game winning streak, it’s going to have to start with Gee. If he can force some bad shots from LeBron and get him to have a somewhat off night, it puts more pressure on Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, and that’s going to play to the Cavs’ favor. However, coming off that 37/7/12 performance, which came against two pretty good defensive players in Jeff Green and Paul Pierce, stopping LeBron is going to be a mountainous task.