2024-25 NBA Playoffs Poll: How many games will Heat win against Cavaliers in first round?

Heat Cavaliers — (Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

On Sunday, the No. 8-seeded Miami Heat begin their seven-game series against the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, the most dominant team in the Eastern Conference all season.

Cleveland was two games away from tying the best record in franchise history, finishing 64-18 with the league’s best offense and third-best NET Rating. Conversely, the Heat finished with their worst record in a decade, winning just 37 games with the 10th-worst offense and ninth-best defense. Miami became the first team in NBA History to win two play-in games on the road after finishing the regular season as the No. 10 seed, downing the Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks.

Miami is playing their best basketball of the season and match up to Cleveland’s two-big frontcourt, but let’s not mistake ourselves: Cleveland, led by Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and Darius Garland, is the more talented team. There’s a reason why they were the No. 1 seed. Miami, led by Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo, is playing some of its best basketball of the season, having won 12 of its last 16 games with a 12.5 NET Rating over that span, which definitely helps its cause at this time of year.

Regular season basketball and postseason basketball are two different animals, but it’s worth mentioning that Cleveland took two of three from the Heat this season. That begs the question: How many games will the Heat win against the Cleveland Cavaliers? Let us know your thoughts in our poll below!