Running Thoughts from tonight’s contest in Miami as the Cavs take on the Heat:

-  Mike Brown was named the Eastern Conference Coach of the Month this afternoon.  I was hard on Brown and the coaching staff last night, but on the whole they have been very good all season.  I don’t think that Mike Brown will ever be a great in-game X’s and O’s guy, but he’s able to get the team to buy in to his defense first philosophy, and that’s a feat.

-  The Cavs didn’t get to Miami until 7am this morning, making the back-to-back even harder than usual.  And unfortunately, there’s not a long rest waiting at the end of the trip, as the team still has three games this week after tonight.

First Quarter:

-  Once again Delonte West will be charged with defending the opponent’s best scorer, taking on the NBA’s leading scorer in Dwyane Wade.  West had a nice steal in transition, but Wade is getting into the lane way too easily so far tonight.  I think West has to come under the screen on the pick and roll and make Wade shoot jumpers if possible.  

-  Delonte West is grimacing after using his right hand to brace himself after a steal.  That’s not good.  Without West, Daniel Gibson will be guarding Wade, at least until steam literally shoots out of Mike Brown’s ears.  That is a recipe for disaster.  But so far the Cavs are rolling, and at the second break of the first quarter, Cleveland leads 22-14, with two LeBron free throws coming after the break.

-  The Heat already have 7 turnovers in the first 9:18 of the game.

-  Michael Beasley might eventually be a good player, but right now I wonder what his ceiling might be.  He will never have the size or the work ethic to be a power forward, and I don’t think he has the quickness or the passing ability to be a good small forward.  He seems destined to be one of those 20-8 guys on a bad team, scoring his 20 points on 20 shots a night and rarely winning basketball games.  But he has been lucky enough to get teamed with Wade early in his career, so he might just become a disappointment while he fails to earn minutes thanks to his selfishness and his lack of defense.

-  How could you not smile with Wade stealing the ball from LeBron on one end, then LeBron rushing to the other end to block Wade’s layup?  (Though the replay looked like goaltending the second time around.)

-  Daniel Gibson should never dribble the basketball.  Ever.  

-  The Heat scored 12 points in the last 2:42 of the first half, after scoring 14 points in the first 9:18.  As a result, they trail by just four, 30-26.

Second Quarter:

-  Last thing the Cavs want to see is Mario Chalmers knocking down threes.  Chalmers is shooting 36% from three this year, but he was six-for-seven against the Cavaliers last time the two teams met.

-  J.J. Hickson with two fouls in two possessions, both on the offensive end.  Welcome Joe Smith.

-  Z has very active hands tonight, with two tip-in baskets, five rebounds and two steals here in the first half.  If he was knocking down shots, it would be a perfect night.  As it is, he’s just 2-for-8 and has even missed two free throws.

-  LeBron drew fouls on two three-point shots in the second quarter.  And he hit all six free throws.

-  LeBron is guarding Wade here down the stretch in the first half.  And he picks up a phantom foul on James off a clean steal.  That is the reason I would be afraid of Miami in the Playoffs; the officials have already gifted him one NBA title, I’m not sure they wouldn’t do something similar in a short series against the Cavs.

-  LeBron hits a three to end the first half, and the Cavs lead by three, 58-55.  The Cavs have to be happy with the first half, and would be doing quite well if J.J. Hickson wasn’t killing them (2 fouls, 2 turnovers, a plus/minus of -12).  Dwyane Wade has been characteristically excellent, with 19 points on 7-for-12 shooting to go with 7 assists and 3 steals, but LeBron has matched him with 23 points on just 10 shots.

Third Quarter:

-  The Cavs have been running a nifty little back cut with LeBron of late.  It’s an incredibly simple play, but teams are so used to LeBron coming away from the basket to receive a pass that it works relatively often.  

-  The Cavs are giving up too many points in the paint (32), but they are hanging in there.

-  Joe Tait to his local producer Santiago Rodriguez at the end of his 20-second DiGiorno Pizza live read: “What’s Spanish for tummy?  Tummy?  I didn’t know I could speak Spanish.”

-  I wish there was more to say about this third quarter, but right now it feels like we’re just waiting for a classic LeBron-Wade showdown in the fourth.

-  The Cavs handed the Heat four straight free throws on fouls well away from the basket late in the quarter.  Giving away free points is not part of the gameplan.

-  Things start to deteriorate just before the end of the third, as the Cavs’ legs are giving out, leading to missed jumpers and easy points in the paint for Miami.

-  Not sure why, but Delonte West refuses to deny Wade the baseline.  Wade is making plays out there, getting past West on the dribble and either finishing at the hoop or finding the open man when the help comes.  He has 9 assists to go with his 34 points.

-  Sasha Pavlovic comes into the game with 36.2 seconds left in the third quarter.  Why is anyone’s guess.

-  At the end of three, the Cavs now trail 82-76.  Once again, the offense sputters badly in a quarter, as the Cavs managed just 18 points in the third, while giving up 27 to the Heat.

Fourth Quarter:

-  I was just about to write that someone unexpected was going to hit a backbreaker or two before this was over.  Then Jamario Moon hits a three, and Mario Chalmers drops in a tough floater.  Meanwhile, the Heat are content with letting the Cavs shoot jumpers that are coming up short.  The Cavs trail by nine, and it’s to the point where even if the Cavs could get this one tied, they wouldn’t have the energy to keep Wade from coming back into the game and beating them all over again.

-  The recipe for a possible Cavs comeback looks like this: LeBron plays brilliantly, and the Cavs rebound every missed Heat shot for the rest of the game.

-  J.J. Hickson is killing the Cavs tonight.  Absolutely killing them. (-17 now)

-  But so is Dwyane Wade.  An easy steal to a nice dunk and the Cavs are in trouble.  This guy is so dangerous, and I don’t think we’re seeing his best tonight.

-  The Cavs give it one last burst and cut the lead to three, 91-88 with some crazy defense and a couple Mo Williams threes.  Feel free to make me look like a pessimistic jerk guys, I won’t mind.

-  I’m surprised the officials were even able to blow the whistle to call the 20-second timeout for the Heat, after swallowing them for the last five minutes.  It’s worked well for the Cavaliers, who have run off twelve straight points to retake the lead, 92-91.  That last layup by Mo Williams was the crazy culmination of a crazy play.  

-  LeBron with two nice open threes and the Cavs are suddenly up by five, 98-93!  The shots were nice, easy, and in rhythm, and the King nailed ‘em.  He has 40 to Wade’s 38, but I don’t think either is done quite yet as we have 2:34 left in the game.

-  LeBron with a step into a wide-open lane and a wham-with-the-right-hand!  Cavs up five and we’re 42 seconds away from a big-big-big Cavs win.

-  Mo Williams hits the obligatory free throws (seven to be exact) to keep the Cavs out in front, and the Cavs finish it off 107-100.  

-  I don’t think anyone was feeling too good after that big loss to the Rockets last Thursday, but the Cavs proceeded to win three straight on the road against Playoff opposition.  There were plenty of hiccups along the way, but the end result is three Cavalier wins and a one-game lead in the Eastern Conference over the Celtics.  The Cavs came through when it mattered, and they’ve turned what was a very tough week into a very good week.

Go Cavs.  Good stuff.

-  All indications are that Joe Smith will be bought out and that he will be coming to Cleveland.  Obviously nothing is certain until the deals are announced.  I expect we’ll hear a bit more during and after the game tonight.

-  Still no word on who the mystery buyout Brian Windhorst was talking about today is.

-  The Cavaliers got a break today, with both the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers losing this afternoon.  The Cavs are now even with the Lakers in the loss column, and two games ahead of the Celtics.  The team is still in the middle of a rough stretch of games, but now they know that if they play really well, they can make some extra hay against the other two elite teams in the league.  I am sure they would like some momentum heading into next Friday’s battle in Boston.

-  I’m interested to see how Joe Johnson looks tonight.  He has been fairly quiet against the Cavaliers this season, scoring just 4 points in the Hawks’ loss at The Q, while scoring 17 in the Hawks win in Atlanta in December.

And we’re off…

First Quarter:

-  Until Joe Smith is in a Cavalier uniform, Anderson Varejao needs to stay out of foul trouble.

-  Three straight free-throw line jumpers for the Cavaliers to start the game.  Wonder if they saw a hole in the Hawks defense there.  Bears watching throughout the night.

-  Mo Williams has been a disaster in transition so far tonight.  A turnover, a shot blocked, a missed three, and a foul on Marvin Williams when the Hawks were in transition.  Hey Mo, when LeBron passed it to you on the break, it was so he could finish the play, not so you could get punked by Josh Smith.  

-  At the first break, the Cavs lead 15-11 thanks to some very solid perimeter shooting.

-  I’ve been trying to figure out what could put the Hawks over the hump.  They have above-average players at the point guard, shooting guard, and power forward.  They have a young double-double machine in Al Horford, and they have a couple of nice bench players in Flip Murrary and Zaza Pachulia.  The rest of their bench is pretty atrocious, but it seems they could take a major leap forward if they could add a star-level big man.  But with the way the NBA economics are looking these days, I don’t expect them to get one.

-  Delonte West picks up a technical foul.  I would love a transcript of what he said to the official to earn it.  At the end of one, the Cavs lead 30-23.  

Second Quarter:

-  Joe Tait lost it for a second there, clearly annoyed by people in his ear reminding him to promote the Sherwin-Williams Sure Shot contest.  Can’t say that I’ve heard anything like that from Joe before.

-  Zydrunas Ilgauskas is off to a very hot start tonight, and has 11 points in the first quarter and change.  Z has been dominating teams without respectable big men, while struggling against teams with quality bigs.  Another break, Cavs lead 33-29.

-  Because I could tell you were wondering, Zaza Pechulia’s real first name is Zaur.  Well, it makes more sense than Sasha being short for Aleksandar.

-  J.J. Hickson has plenty of weaknesses in his game, but man does he jump very high very quickly.

-  I’m not complaining, but the Hawks are getting jobbed by the officials in this quarter.  

-  LeBron with an acrobatic and-one, then he gives Delonte West a side five hard enough that you’d half-expect Delonte’s wrist to shatter again.  

-  I’m beginning to wonder just how many teams could survive the anchor that is Daniel Gibson?  Boobie is 0-for-4 despite getting numerous good looks, and just picked up a cheap foul to send Mike Bibby to the free throw line for two easy points.  At the break, the Cavs lead 53-43.  Really like the rebounding in the first half, with the Cavaliers outrebounding the Hawks 20-16, including 7-4 on the offensive glass.

Third Quarter:

-  Loving the Cavalier defense in the third quarter, hating the way the team is settling for jump shots offensively.  They should be up by 20 with the way they’re defending.

-  Yes, ESPN announcer Dave Pasch confused Mike Brown with Mike Woodson after a clear-path foul call.  They’re both bald, they both sometimes sport a goatee, but I’m pretty sure that Woodson has about six inches on the Cavalier coach.

-  Color me officially worried about Flip Murrary taking on the Mike James role from when the Cavaliers lost to the Wizards.  And I was thinking that before he knocked down the last shot of the third quarter to give Atlanta the lead, 68-67.  The Cavs scored just 14 points in that quarter because they got too comfortable with the lead and settled for jump shot after jump shot.

-  Delonte West is currently shooting 33% from the floor and has 5 turnovers.  And since he was sitting because Mike Brown thought he had four personal fouls, Joe Johnson finally got off and scored 11 points in the third quarter.

-  We’re heading into the first interesting fourth quarter since the All-Star break.

Fourth Quarter:

-  The Cavs picked up three fouls in the first 2:07 of the fourth quarter.  That is not a recipe for success on the road.  The Hawks are attacking the rim, the Cavs are not.

-  Zaza Pachulia is murdering the Cavs with his offensive rebounds.  When you’re having trouble scoring, as the Cavaliers are, it’s emotionally devestating to give up second-chance points, which the Cavaliers are.

-  I might have been premature in saying this fourth quarter will be interesting.  The Cavs are getting run out of the building here in the fourth.  Mike Brown and the coaching staff opened the door for this by failing to adjust in the third quarter; now they seem to have no solution for what the Hawks are doing.  The Hawks are up 7, 79-72.  

-  The Cavalier bench has scored 6 points.

-  The Cavaliers can’t even get the ball in after a timeout, having to waste another one.  Again, Mike Brown and Co are not getting it done right now.

-  The Cavs don’t even get a shot off after the timeout.  Miserable coaching.

-  Flip Murrary vs. Mo Williams scares the heck out of me down the stretch.

-  Anderson Varejao keeping the Cavs in the game by himself, with five points on a tough tough fadeaway jumper and an and-one bucket.  He also drew and offensive foul on the other end.  Cavs still in this one, trailing 82-80.

-  The ball finds Marvin Wiliams after a great defensive possession by the Cavaliers, and he knocks down a huge three to give the Hawks a five point lead with less than two minutes remaining.  Ouch.

-  Delonte West wastes 20 seconds before lauching and making a 20-footer.  Hate the shot, like the outcome.

-  LeBron gets whacked but no call, gets it back, finds Mo Williams who knocks down an even HUGE-ER three-pointer!  We’re tied at 87!

-  The Hawks have Bibby, Murray and Johnson together on the floor.  That seems to play right into the hands of the Cavalier defense, who want to use Mo, Delonte and LeBron to guard that trio.

-  LeBron gets the whistle this time, and he’s at the line.  Misses the first (ouch), but hits the second.  Cavs lead 88-87.

-  Hawks with 1.6 seconds to shoot trailing one.  Here we go.  No fouls please.

-  Joe Johnson got completely free, but his shot is just a bit long and the Cavs somehow escape this one with a win.

-  This was not a good game, but the Cavs will take it, especially with the Celtics and Lakers falling earlier today.  Late in the game, Doris Burke said “this is what good teams do,” referring to the Cavaliers staying alive.  That may be true, but I think I would flip it in this case.  The reason the Hawks are still a second-tier team is because they have trouble finishing games like this.  They are good enough to play tough in games like this, even good enough to win one or two.  But they aren’t good enough to win these games with any kind of regularity, and they will beat themselves too often.   

Go Cavs.  More tomorrow.