The Cleveland Cavaliers were already struggling to make the playoffs after losing significant groundi n the Eastern Conference. Now, an injury to Kyrie Irving will make their postseason goals nearly impossible. The star point guard is predicted to be out at least two weeks after straining a tendon in his bicep. Now with LeBron James and the Miami Heat coming into town, the Cavaliers' season could be over quickly.
Prior to getting injured, Irving was averaging 21.2 points and 6.2 assists, leaving the Cavaliers. Irving picked the wrong time to get injured. The Cavaliers are in the midst of a tough three-game homestand. After facing the Heat on Tuesday, the team has Oklahoma City and Houston coming in for a visit. Cleveland is currently sitting five games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Missing their leader will not make the final stretch easy.
The Miami Heat are coming off a roller coaster few games. The team went 1-5 in a recent stretch of games, putting them 3 ½ games back from the conference-leading Pacers. The Heat beat the Houston Rockets on Sunday and will now try to put together a win streak when facing the Cavaliers, a team they have excelled against in the past. Miami has a four-game win streak at the Quicken Loans Arena.
Miami used a second-half surge to beat the Rockets. The team scored 21 of their final 28 points in the fourth quarter. Ray Allen put up a season-high 25 points while Dwyane Wade had 24. Returning to Cleveland is no longer a big deal for James. The forward is averaging 29.2 points and 8.0 rebounds against his former team at home.
The Cavaliers are trying to snap a nine game losing streak to the Miami Heat since James joined the team. Without Irving that will be hard to do.
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