Cavs fans, these 18 playoff scribbles are for you! – Terry Pluto (2025)

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Scribbles in my notebook as the Cavs wiped out Miami 138-83 to sweep the first-round series:

1. The fact that the Cavs swept Miami is not a huge surprise. Nor is how the Cavs scored 120-some points with ease vs. Miami, which is a decent defensive team. The Cavs led the NBA in scoring at 121.9 points per game in the regular season.

2. Another stunning stat is the Cavs didn’t have Darius Garland for the last two games, but they won by a combined total of 92 points.

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3. How does coach Kenny Atkinson explain that? He smiled and said: “It shows how deep we are … legitimately deep. Not sure any team in the league can go that deep with that many rotation players."

4. As the series progressed, the Cavs bench led by Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter came in and dominated. Sam Merrill moved into the lineup for Garland in the last two games. The Jerome/Hunter combination consistently turns games in Cleveland’s favor as they come off the bench together. They were teammates at Virginia, and the chemistry shows. In the playoffs, Jerome is averaging 16.3 points, Hunter 13.

5. Perhaps the real story of the Cavs is the rise of their defense. I love how Atkinson challenged them after Game 2. That was the game where the Cavs made a playoff-record 11 shots from 3-point range in the second quarter. They roared to a 19-point lead. Everything was easy. Then the ball stopped moving. The defense and rebounding was lazy. The lead was cut to three points with three minutes left. They pulled themselves together and won, 121-112.

6. After Game 2, Atkinson said: “I’d love to see us react better when we don’t make shots … Thinking we can just outshoot teams, it doesn’t work that way … We can’t be a make-or-miss team.”

7. Atkinson has been stressing defense – especially rebounding – for about two months. The Cavs are a highly skilled team. President Koby Altman has assembled a roster of superb outside shooters. For teams like that, the temptation is to rely on their offense. They can ignore what Atkinson calls “the dirty work.” That’s part of the reason he keeps Max Strus in the lineup. The veteran chases down loose balls and long rebounds. He looks to pass inside, especially to center Jarrett Allen. He’s a pesky defender.

8. The Cavs crushed Miami 124-87 in Game 3. What pleased Atkinson the most is his team hammering Miami 46-29 on the boards. They scored 60 points in the paint, compared to 30 for the Heat. Evan Mobley and Allen controlled the defense near the rim – and they are athletic enough to jump out and defend shooters on the 3-point line.

9. Seeing Allen and Mobley play together so well is why Atkinson was adamant about wanting to keep both big men when he interviewed for the Cavs coaching job. Over and over, Atkinson said he didn’t want to “lose the defensive identity” the Cavs had under former coach J.B. Bickerstaff.

10. They opened Game 4 by leading 25-5 and then 30-8. By the end of the first quarter, it was 43-17. While the 43 points was eye-popping, holding Miami on its home court to 17 points was impressive. Then came the second quarter, and Miami scored only 16 points as the Cavs led 72-33 at the half.

11. The Cavs gave up only 87 and 83 points in the last two games in Miami. Remember, the average NBA team scores 111 points per game.

12. Allen was the inspiration on defense. The center had six steals … that’s right, six steals … IN THE FIRST HALF. He also had 11 rebounds and scored 12 points. Allen sent the message that he wanted to end this series ASAP.

13. On the first play of the game, Miami threw a poor pass … Allen stuck out his long arm … tipped it forward … ran it down … grabbed the ball and dunked. Allen remains one of the most underrated players in the NBA.

14. Allen’s six steals tied a team record set by Mark Price, John “Hot Rod” Williams and Ron Harper. Allen averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds in this series.

15. In the first four games of the 2024 playoffs, Allen averaged 17 points and 14 rebounds before suffering broken ribs that ended his season. Allen played all 82 games this season, only one of 11 NBA players to appear in every regular-season game. After he was injured in the 2024 playoffs, he set the goal to play all 82 games.

16 Atkinson said: “Jarrett was phenomenal. He showed great leadership. Our Big Four led by Donovan Mitchell set the right tone. They send the right message. I really don’t have to say anything (about the playoffs), it’s been said by them.”

17. Now the Cavs will have several days off as they await the winner of the Indiana/Milwaukee series. The Pacers are on top, 3-1. Atkinson is not worried about the Cavs having to wait a while to play. Atkinson won his first series as an NBA head coach.

18. More Atkinson: “We came in (the playoffs) with the right mentality. Because of our maturity and leadership, we don’t have many letdowns. That’s rare with any team.”