Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineups and depth charts for Game 1 (April 20)

Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineups and depth charts for Game 1 (April 20) | 2025 NBA Playoffs

Modified Apr 20, 2025 10:10 GMT

NBA: Cleveland Cavaliers at Miami Heat - Source: Imagn — Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineups and depth charts for Game 1 (April 20) (Credits: Imagn)

The Miami Heat will take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first postseason game on Sunday. The Heat made history by becoming the first 10th seed in the league to claim a playoff spot. They defeated the Chicago Bulls and the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament to book their ticket to the 2025 NBA playoffs.

From here, the competition only gets tougher as Miami won’t have home-court advantage in any of their playoff series. However, as we’ve seen many times in the past, the Heat thrive when they’re the underdogs. We’ve seen them make the NBA Finals in 2020 as the fifth seed in the East and in 2023 as the eighth seed.

So, they can’t be counted out, even against the Cleveland Cavaliers, who hold the second-best record in the league this season.

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Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Injury Reports for April 20

Miami Heat injury report

Despite fighting through a tough play-in tournament, Miami has managed to keep all of its players healthy for the playoffs. Kevin Love remains their only player who will miss their first game against the Cavaliers on Sunday.

Cleveland Cavaliers injury report

The Cleveland Cavaliers are also heading into this game at full strength and don’t have any players listed on their injury report for Sunday.

Miami Heat vs Cleveland Cavaliers Starting Lineups and Depth Charts for April 20

Miami Heat starting lineup and depth charts

With all their players healthy, the Heat will be able to field their best lineup. Expect them to start Tyler Herro, Alec Burks, Andrew Wiggins, Bam Adebayo, and Kel’el Ware.

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
Tyler Herro	Alec Burks	Andrew Wiggins	Bam Adebayo	Kel’el Ware
Davion Mitchell	Duncan Robinson	Haywood Highsmith	Kyle Anderson	Nikola Jovic
Terry Rozier	Jaime Jaquez Jr.	Pelle Larsson

Cleveland Cavaliers starting lineup and depth charts

The Cleveland Cavaliers will likely stick to what has worked for them throughout the 2024-25 regular season. They are expected to start Darius Garland, Donovan Mitchell, Max Strus, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen.

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Small Forward	Power Forward	Center
Darius Garland	Donovan Mitchell	Max Strus	Evan Mobley	Jarrett Allen
Ty Jerome	Sam Merrill	De’Andre Hunter	Dean Wade	Tristan Thompson
Craig Porter Jr.	Isaac Okoro	Javonte Green	Chuma Okeke

About the author

Sameer is an esports and gaming journalist at Sportskeeda who covers a diverse range of topics. He is currently pursuing a BSc degree from BITS, but his love for video games pushed him to pursue a gaming journalism career. He relies on diligent research and fact-checking to deliver top-notch content. He has previously worked in the hospitality sector with the Oberoi Group.

Sameer’s gaming journey began with Rockstar Games’ GTA franchise, specifically
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. He strongly prefers multiplayer games, with FPS being his favorite genre, and has devoted 6K+ hours to CS:GO! However, he also dabbles in open-world, story-based games from time to time. Solo RPGs like Horizon Forbidden West hold a soft spot in his heart, and he would readily drop in it given a Jumanji-type scenario.

Sameer makes sure to follow Counter-Strike and Valorant esports tournaments, as he believes that watching a game being played at the highest level can be highly educational. He derives inspiration from Tarik's meteoric rise to become one of the biggest FPS streamers in the world following the release of Valorant.

Outside of work, you can find Sameer playing football or cheering for FC Barcelona. He also likes to read and write poetry.

Know More

Miami Heat Nation! You can check out the latest Miami Heat Schedule and dive into the Heat Depth Chart for NBA Season 2024-25.

Edited by pranavsethii