Soft? Not these Cavaliers, who destroyed Heat in Game 3 amid trash-talking battle

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MIAMI — Let’s get this part out of the way:

It was either unfortunate timing, or just not the best look, for Darius Garland to go in on Tyler Herro and then not play the next game with a toe sprain.

Likewise, it was either unfortunate timing or not the best look for Herro, and the Miami Heat, to respond as forcefully with their words to Garland as they did and then play as poorly as they did Saturday.

You could, if you wanted, try to make a case that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ dominance in a 124-87 win over Miami in Game 3 was a result of Garland’s teammates having his back, picking him up when he was not out there to walk the walk.

You could try that, and the Cavs would meet you with an “ehhhh.”

“Maybe a little bit, but I feel like we’re going to put up this effort regardless of what’s going on,” Evan Mobley said.

“I think the biggest thing is we understood who we were playing,” Donovan Mitchell added.

“We’ve matured a lot,” Max Strus concluded.

we know they make DUNKaroos… what about SLAMDUNKaroos?? Just asking for a friend.@evanmobley | #LetEmKnow pic.twitter.com/RLQ9d1RHQz

— Cleveland Cavaliers (@cavs) April 26, 2025

This was the worst playoff loss in Miami history and the third-largest victory in Cavs playoff history. Cleveland is averaging 121.9 points in this lopsided series, which the Cavs lead 3-0, and if history is any guide — because no NBA team has ever recovered from such a deficit — they will be moving on to the second round. For the sake of the players’ health and this writer’s golfing habit, maybe the end of this series comes soon, like Monday in Game 4.

Should the Cavs finish the sweep, it will be just the third time in Heat history that they will have been dismissed from a series like that. And it would be yet another sign of the maturity and composure Cleveland has developed in the last 12 months.

The Cavs entered this season with a reputation that was both earned and perhaps a little unfair — that they were a soft team. Individually, so the saying went, the players are nice, polite young men, and the sum of such parts meant getting pushed around in the postseason by the Knicks two years ago, the Celtics last year, and even by Orlando in the series Cleveland took in seven games.

Again, the performances on the court played into how outsiders thought about the Cavs. And it’s true, most of the time, their top players are typically smiling. But let me explain why the reputation was either short-sighted or perhaps that Cleveland has grown out of it.

For starters, Mitchell is not a nice guy in the context that leads to a soft label. Insightful? Yes. Polite to the media? Sure. But he is also shrewd and calculated. He knows how to push buttons and he absolutely, without question, is not afraid of conflict. He has been in at least two physical scraps in three seasons with Cleveland against two substantially bigger guys in Dillon Brooks and Desmond Bane, and Mitchell held his ground (and then some) both times.

Much has been made of the taunts Ty Jerome lets fly after made buckets, but he talks the trash he talks (by the way, Jerome set a franchise playoff record with 11 assists off the bench Saturday) because it is backed by a supreme confidence that his opponent won’t be able to stop him.

Mobley was maybe 210 pounds, maybe, in that first playoff series against New York’s then-bruisers two seasons ago. Yes, he was pushed around, but he was 21 years old and still growing into his body. Now he’s the reigning defensive player of the year, and he dunked on Bam Adebayo on Saturday with the force of a player who is no longer interested in being picked on.

Strus was stunned by the Cavs’ lack of maturity (among other things) when he first joined the organization before the start of last season. He was used to structure, professionalism and toughness he was taught as a part of Heat Culture in Miami, and found all three things lacking during his early days in Cleveland. But he no longer feels that way.

“It comes with the more you get around guys, the more you play together, the more experience you have,” Strus said. “So I think it’s just after last year’s playoffs, I think guys came back this year ready and prepared. Grew up a little bit, I guess you could say. But yeah, it’s been fun watching our younger guys grow and learn and be in these positions.”

It takes a certain maturity to come into Miami’s arena — I know the name of it, but I’m not going to bother; in my 11 NBA seasons, I think it’s changed names four times? — and play the way the Cavs played. Yes, this is one of the worst Heat teams in a long time and is the first NBA team to make the playoffs after finishing 10th. But there are still stars on the roster, the coach is arguably the best in the sport, and the Cavs insist that Miami will play hard for the entire game, regardless of score or situation.

The Cavs have struggled in the previous two playoffs in these Game 3s on the road, losing to both the Knicks and last year to the Magic in embarrassing fashion. They have also been in the Miami area since Thursday evening. Laugh if you must, but a team with less focus, playoffs or no playoffs, gets drilled in this game after two nights out on South Beach. It’s not like it was beneath a more veteran Cavs team to go to a party city (Toronto) up 2-0 in a playoff series and promptly lose the next two after getting too lose with its free time (remember, before Game 6, then-coach Tyronn Lue having to remind his players that it was, in fact, a business trip). The current Cavs absolutely deserve brownie points for not letting Miami’s shores get the better of them.

It takes composure not to get caught up in the emotion of Garland and Herro sniping at each other. And it takes resolve to go win a playoff game without Garland, who is the team’s second-leading scorer and a brilliant playmaker, on a night when Mitchell shot 4-of-14.

Jarrett Allen destroyed the Heat with a postseason career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Mobley scored 19 points with six boards. The Cavs mashed Miami in the paint, shooting 70 percent from inside. De’Andre Hunter came off the bench for 21 points. And the defensive effort this team turned in Saturday was something to behold.

The playoffs are not about statements, but rather about surviving and advancing. And it’s not like the Heat are comparable to the Cavs this year, based on their regular-season records (Miami finished 27 games out of first, behind the Cavs), but the Cavs nevertheless made an emphatic statement Saturday.

“We definitely want to prove where we’re at right now,” Mobley said.

Two proven, All-Star scorers who are traditionally poor defenders in Garland and Herro, yeah, perhaps they should not be arguing with each other about who plays less defense between them. We could spend time (but won’t!) trying to guess why Garland said what he said, but we should point out that there is no bigger Cavs backer, outside of maybe Tristan Thompson, than Garland — who constantly pushes his teammates for awards and recognition and cheers like crazy from the bench when he’s in street clothes. He also will have plenty of time, and several more tests, ahead in the playoffs to show he’s grown as a player and as a person, too.

Before the game Saturday, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was asked about Garland and Herro. He said, “It was addressed (Friday). They won two games, so they’re talking s—. It is what it is.”

What might the Cavs say after they’ve won three?

Probably not much. Their play will take care of it for them.

(Photo of Evan Mobley and Tyler Herro: Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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