Another poor defensive performance cost Cavs in 120-103 loss to Heat

Mar 25, 2026; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo (13) drives as Cleveland Cavaliers guard James Harden (1) defends in the first quarter at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images | David Richard-Imagn Images The Cleveland Cavaliers ‘ slow start on both ends of the floor did them in. They erased a 21 -point deficit and grabbed a brief fourth-quarter lead, but they weren’t able to hold off the Miami Heat, resulting in a 120-103 loss.

The defense — once again — was the issue. Head coach Kenny Atkinson called out his team’s defensive effort after giving up 131 points to the Orlando Magic the night before. Those words had little effect on this game.

There’s something broken with the Cavs defense right now. Defense comes down to more than just effort. The Cavs tried on that end at the start of the game, but it just didn’t matter due to their combination of poor scheme for the opponent and their lack of personnel, with Dean Wade (ankle), Jarrett Allen (knee), Jaylon Tyson (toe), and Max Strus (injury management) all missing this game.

The Cavs have consistently overprotected the paint on drives to the basket. This led to open looks on the outside, even though the ball handler didn’t have to earn the kick-out-pass by actually blowing past their defender. As a result, the Heat went 7-16 from three (43.