Mar 22, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets small forward Chandler Parsons (25) is guarded by Cleveland Cavaliers power forward Marreese Speights (15) in the second quarter at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Welcome to “Tuesdays with Right Down Euclid.” Every Tuesday the RDE crew of Zachary Kolesar and host Chris Manning will talk the latest Wine and Gold and NBA news to keep you informed on headlining topics in the form of back-and-forth discussion. We will cover the most important subjects in a four-quarter (and overtime) breakdown spanning from the shores of Lake Erie to all around the NBA (if it is relevant breaking news).

In the twenty-seventh episode, website editor Zachary Kolesar and contributing blogger Chris Manning talk about the remaining Western Conference playoff teams, the absence of Derrick Rose, which Los Angeles team is in a better situation going into the offseason, LeBron James’ legacy and tips for Cavalier fans.

Below is the link where you can listen to this week’s episode as a whole:

You can also fast forward to the section of your choice by looking at the start time of each quarter:

First Quarter – With Russell Westbrook out for the playoffs, which Western Conference team will reign supreme?

Starts at the beginning of podcast

Second Quarter – Should D. Rose be playing? Should Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich be playing?

Starts at 8:33

Third Quarter – Which team’s situation would you rather inherit: the Clippers or the Lakers?

Starts at 12:50

Fourth Quarter – Where does a fourth MVP put LeBron’s legend?

Starts at 23:36

Overtime – What offseason tips do you have for Wine and Gold fans?

Starts at 28:00

Make sure to join us next Tuesday for your weekly dose of “Tuesdays with Right Down Euclid.”

Feb 17, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA; Miami Heat small forward LeBron James (6) guards Cleveland Cavaliers player Kyrie Irving during a game at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The Cleveland Cavaliers started a rough stretch of games Monday night with the Indiana Pacers and tonight it continues with the Miami Heat. If you haven’t turned on a TV recently, the Heat are on a bit of a winning streak, 23 games to be exact.  The 23-game winning streak is second best in NBA history, only behind the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers who won 33-straight games.  The Cavs will have the tough task of stopping this Miami winning streak without their two leading scorers.

Opponent’s Blog: All You Can Heat
Venue: Quicken Loans Arena
Tipoff: Wednesday, March 20 at 7 p.m.
Betting Line: Heat by -11.5
Where you can watch: Fox Sports Ohio
Where you can listen: WTAM (1100 AM), WFUN (970 AM)

Dion Waiters played the entire first quarter Monday night against the Pacers, but never returned to the game after that.  He was diagnosed with a knee injury.  He is expected to miss at least a week, but if he needs surgery to repair it, then he will be out for the remainder of the year.  Waiters joins the injury list of Kyrie Irving, who averages 23 points per game, and Anderson Varejao who averaged 14.1 points per game before suffering a knee injury then being treated for a blood clot which ended his season.

Despite the team injuries, coach Byron Scott is confident heading into tonight’s matchup.  The two previous games between these two teams have been close, and the Cavs have held leads in the fourth quarter, only to blow it in the final minutes.  The Cavs’ two losses against the Heat have come by a total of six points.

The player formerly known as 23 makes his first appearance in Cleveland this year.  Each time he returns to Quicken Loans Arena, the “boo birds” reduce each time he gets introduced; that trend is expected to continue.

A matchup the Cavs will look to go to often will be between Tristan Thompson and Udonis Haslem.  With all the injuries Cleveland is facing, this might be the only positional battle they have an advantage at.  In his last 10 games, Thompson has averaged 13.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game.  Haslem is averaging less than four points per game.  Thompson will have to be involved in the offense early and often if the Cavs want any chance in this game.

Mar 18, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; A Cleveland Cavaliers fan holds a sign referring to LeBron James (not pictured) in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Quicken Loans Arena. The Cavaliers lost 111-90. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-USA TODAY Sports

The No. 23 is a number that will forever give Cleveland fans pain. And come Wednesday night, that number will be displayed in more ways than one.

The Cavs look to snap the Miami’s 23-game winning streak – We all know about their winning streak. Last night they snuck by the Boston Celtics after some late-game heroics from LeBron. The streak started on 2-3-13 against the Toronto Raptors. Since then, the Heat have gone on to beat teams like the Clippers, Lakers, Thunder, Knicks, Pacers, Grizzlies and Celtics. The Heat have 16 games remaining on their schedule, and only six of those games are against teams that are slated to make the playoffs this year.

The player formerly known as 23 will make his first appearance in Cleveland this season Wednesday night – His departure from Cleveland was well documented, and about 99 percent of Cleveland fans hated him after his Decision. Since then, he was won a gold medal, was named SI’s Sportsman of the Year, earned 2011-12 NBA MVP honors and won an NBA Championship. It is safe to say he has won. The boos are expected to be reduced from the two previous years he had visited Cleveland as a member of the Miami Heat.

Nos. 2 and 3 are OUT for this game – If the two rosters weren’t uneven enough, it looks like the Cavs will be without their two leading scorers, Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters. Monday night’s game was a little preview of what could happen if Waiters and Irving are not in the lineup. Livingston has done well the past five games, averaging over 10 points and nearly five assists.  But if Monday’s game is any indication of how the Cavs will play without Nos. 2 and 3, the Miami Heat could steamroll the Cavs just like the Pacers did.

The Cavs will be missing Irving’s 23 points per game – Irving has missed 18 games this season, so the Cavs have gotten used to playing without their leading scorer. In the last two meetings against the Heat, the Cavs have held fourth quarter leads, only to give it up in the final seconds. Irving is much more than a 23 PPG scorer, but he is a fourth-quarter scorer. He ranks as one of the league’s top fourth quarter scorers, among players like Carmelo Anthony, Jamal Crawford, James Harden and LeBron.

The Cavs will be looking for their 23rd win of the year – The Cavs and Heat obviously have had different intentions for this season.  The Heat are looking for back-to-back NBA championships. The Cavs, on the other hand, are looking to close out this season on a positive note, playing playoff teams in eight of their next 10 games. This stretch will tell a lot about what kind of team the Cavs are. They have already won more games than last year’s shortened season, but injuries to key players have prevented the Cavs from playing at full strength.

I’m not a firm believer in conspiracies, but the No. 23 appears a little more than I would like. Whether this plays to an advantage for the Cavs or not can be up to you decide. But growing up, I lived by the motto that coach Danny O’Shea said at halftime in the Little Giants Movie: “Even if they beat you 99 times out of 100, that still leaves that one time.”

Just like when O’Shea would always race his big brother, Kevin, down Cherry Hill, and he would never beat him – but that one time, he did. The Miami Heat are like the older brother; they are a better team and should beat the Cavs every time they play, but there’s always that one time.