Cleveland.com Cavs beat reporter Chris Fedor shared the team’s official explanation: “I’ll just give you their explanation of the why. Not to say that I agree with it, but their explanation on the why was there was 0.4 seconds remaining. They thought Miami was going to use all of its size around the rim because they only have one option. So the Cavs use their size around the rim as opposed to on the guy who was inbounding the ball.”
This reasoning falls apart under scrutiny, especially considering how the play unfolded. A definite miscommunication occurred between De’Andre Hunter and Sam Merrill, leaving Andrew Wiggins open for the game-winning lob.
“It was just a big-time breakdown,” Fedor concluded. “But I do think it’s fair to wonder about the personnel that was there on the floor and the strategy that was there on the floor, while also giving a ton of credit to one of the greatest chess masters that we’ve seen in the last 15 years in Eric Spoelstra.”
Nothing says cleveland.com like "One of the greatest chess masters"...whose name they can't spell (Erik)
While acknowledging Miami’s brilliant execution, both hosts [Ethan Sands and Fedor] emphasized that Cleveland’s defensive approach was fundamentally flawed.
