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Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Miami Heat: 5 reasons LeBron James will get revenge tonight

By Daniel Tran

Dec 25, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) hugs Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) after their game at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 25, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) hugs Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade (3) after their game at American Airlines Arena. The Heat won 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /
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Cleveland Cavaliers
Dec 25, 2014; Miami, FL, USA; Miami Heat forward Luol Deng (9) dribbles the ball as Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) defends the play during the second half at American Airlines Arena. Heat won 101-91. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports /

2. This is no drill. The Cavaliers are locking down.

Many fans and experts were expecting Cleveland to be one of the better offensive teams in the NBA with their weapons and a head coach that preached a movement-based offense. Their defense, on the other hand, was predicted to be atrocious with zero rim protection. The experts forecasted the Cavaliers defense correctly.

Even with Anderson Varejao in the lineup, the Cleveland Cavaliers best blocker was LeBron James. All the Cavalier big men were positional defenders rather than rim protectors, so the Cleveland was practically helpless once an opposing player was near the rim.

The Cavs were ranked 26th in the league in rejections, only getting 4.1 blocks per game up to January 7, 2014, B.M. They were also one of the worse defensive teams in general with, again, James being the only proven defender in his prime (Sorry, Shawn Marion). Without a solid defensive scheme, the Cavs ranked 24th in defensive efficiency in the league.

However, that all changed after January 9, 2014, A.M. After and including that date, Cleveland has really cranked it up on the defensive end, and rank 16th in defensive efficiency since January 9, and had a streak of ten games where they kept teams under 100 points. Look for then to hold this injured Heat team, who has been averaging 90.2 points in their last six games, under the century mark.

At this point, you are probably wondering what A.M. and B.M. mean. The Cavaliers season can be split into two distinctive regions of time. The time in which the Cavaliers were struggling on the defense of long stretches with no rim protection is classified as B.M. and the more successful defensive effort is classified as A.M.; or Before Mozgov and After Mozgov, respectively.

Next: Moz-illa is running amuck

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