In the playoffs, noise is inevitable. How you survive it — that’s what separates real contenders from the rest. The Cavaliers walked into Miami on Saturday carrying more than just a 2-0 series lead. They carried pressure. They carried expectation. They carried the weight of a brewing feud that had turned this first-round series into something far more personal. And above all, they carried one instruction from Kenny Atkinson.

“Composure,” Atkinson emphasized before tipoff, echoing what he had drilled into them for days. Control the noise. Control the moment.

In a series overshadowed by Darius Garland’s blunt assessment of Tyler Herro’s defense as weak — “Pick on Tyler Herro and take care of the ball,” Garland said after Game 2 — the noise could have easily rattled a lesser team. Herro’s furious response only turned up the heat: “Somebody that doesn’t play defense shouldn’t be talking either. He don’t play no D,” Herro snapped back. Bam Adebayo echoed the sentiment, saying, “We all took it personally.”

But when the ball tipped, the Cavaliers didn’t bite.

“It was a big emphasis. That was his pre-game speech and these past few days we’ve been talking about it as well,” Evan Mobley explained post-game when asked about Kenny’s pregame message. “We’re coming into their house, we knew they were going to have the energy — and I feel like we matched it. And exceeded it.”

They didn’t just exceed it — they suffocated it.

After absorbing Miami’s initial surge, Cleveland detonated a 33-5 run that ripped the roof off Kaseya Center. And they did it without Darius Garland — the very architect of the scouting report that started this feud. Jarrett Allen (22 points, 10 rebounds) and De’Andre Hunter (21 points) dominated the paint. Ty Jerome, stepping into Garland’s shoes, orchestrated the offense with 13 points, 11 assists, and a jaw-dropping +33 in just 22 minutes.

With how the game unfolded, it was pretty clear that inside the room, the mood wasn’t fiery. It was clinical. No trash talk, no bulletin board hype. Just a shared understanding: they had to embody their coach’s message. Garland’s pre-game absence — ruled out with a sprained toe — only sharpened the focus. They were missing their lead ball-handler, but not their identity.

Meanwhile, the Heat — supposedly fueled by rage — crumbled under Cleveland’s poise. Tyler Herro, carrying the burden of the feud, mustered just 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting, swallowed by Max Strus’ face-guarding and the Cavaliers’ seamless rotations.

This wasn’t just a blowout. It was a message. Moreover, Cleveland’s 124-87 demolition wasn’t just about the scoreboard — it reasserted their identity as the East’s most cohesive, disciplined team. It also exposed a harsh reality: for all Miami’s pride, they simply don’t have the firepower or defensive backbone to hang with this Cavaliers roster.

“Maybe a little bit,” Mobley admitted when asked if Garland’s feud fueled the effort. “But we were going to put out this effort regardless. Every time we step on the floor, we want to prove where we’re at.”

Without Garland, the Cavaliers didn’t panic. Donovan Mitchell didn’t force shots. The team didn’t devolve into isolation basketball. They trusted the system. They trusted each other. Kenny Atkinson’s pregame message wasn’t just heard — it was embodied. But after such a blowout win, one can’t help but wonder: Was DG right in his assessment of Herro and his team?

The real damage wasn’t the words — It was the beatdown

Darius Garland’s assessment of Tyler Herro as a defensive weak link wasn’t trash talk. It was scouting — and Game 3 only reinforced it. Even with Miami adjusting — placing Herro on Sam Merrill and minimizing switches — Cleveland still picked at mismatches relentlessly. When they couldn’t target Herro directly, they hunted Kel’el Ware instead, carving him up on three straight empty-side pick-and-rolls. The result? A complete takeover before halftime.

The irony couldn’t be sharper: the Cavaliers picked apart Miami without Garland even touching the court.

For Herro, it was a brutal reminder: hiding a defensive liability in the playoffs isn’t about effort. It’s about inevitability. And even though Herro vowed postgame, “We’re not going down 4-0,” the Cavs’ machine-like efficiency made it clear — fighting back will take more than slogans.

Spoelstra knows conventional matchups won’t cut it. Look for Miami to trap Ty Jerome more aggressively, sending two defenders high and forcing rushed passes to disrupt Cleveland’s rhythm. Expect quicker, higher stunts on Donovan Mitchell, aimed at crowding his driving lanes and forcing the ball out of his hands.

There’s even a chance Spoelstra throws in desperate zone defenses — perhaps a hybrid 2-1-2 or box-and-one — just to muddy Cleveland’s clean offensive structure. But here’s the catch: against most teams, those tactics can scramble rhythm. Against Cleveland? It’s a different beast.

Ty Jerome’s poise under pressure isn’t an accident — he thrived in Golden State’s read-and-react system. Mobley and Allen’s passing from the high post gives the Cavs a built-in outlet against traps. And Mitchell, while capable of going into iso-mode, has matured into a willing re-locator, trusting second-side actions to shred over-committed defenses.

Spoelstra might win a few possessions with chaos. He won’t win four quarters. In fact, Miami’s bigger risk is overextending themselves defensively — opening up even easier rim runs for Allen, corner threes for Strus, and backdoor cuts for Mobley if Cleveland stays disciplined.

It’s also worth noting that Cleveland dismantled Miami’s defense without Garland in the lineup. Should Garland return — depending on the toe injury he aggravated contesting a shot late in Game 2 — Miami’s coverage map will be stretched even thinner.

As for Herro’s bold statement that Miami won’t get swept? His words reflect pride. But if Cleveland keeps executing at this level, it’s pride alone that might be left standing. The Cavs are operating like a team that doesn’t just want to win this series — they want to send a message doing it.