Winderman’s view: So, ugh, Cavaliers next for Heat in playoffs?

CLEVELAND — Observations and other notes of interest from Wednesday night’s 112-107 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers:

– Put aside the Heat absences for a moment, if that is possible with so many missing faces on Wednesday night.

– And then consider the reality of the Heat’s situation.

– Even after this unexpectedly competitive fight.

– If they do make it out of the play-in round (which appears to be their postseason starting spot again), then it could be Heat-Cavaliers in the best-of-seven opening round.

– Such is what happens when you’re not good enough for a good seeding.

– (With the Heat having lost plenty of games before this latest injury and absence epidemic).

– Asked pregame about such a possibility, Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson said. “If we have to play this team in the first round, we know we have our hands full.”

– So apparently diplomacy still exists in some quarters.

– Reality? The next time the teams meet, if they do meet, would be without Cleveland playing on the second night of a back-to-back, as was the case in this one.

– Yes, there was no Tyler Herro, no Kel’el Ware, no Andrew Wiggins, and no several others for the Heat in this one.

– And yes, the Heat already had a home victory over the Cavaliers this season (with this their only visit of the season).

– But fate assuredly would be tempted.

– But this is exactly where the Heat stand.

– Cavaliers in the first round.

– Or Celtics in the first round.

– Making it out of April stands as a longshot, even with Wednesday night’s good job, good effort.

– (Unless, say, the Knicks somehow climb to No. 2.)

– Jimmy Butler tossed a grenade into the Heat’s season.

– The losses since the Butler trade, though, are ones that could prove just as costly.

– So, best-case scenario, Cleveland a month from now.

– Such is where the first four months have delivered us.

– Heat coach Erik Spoelstra went in with ample respect for what the Cavaliers have achieved.

– “They’ve taken a jump really each of the last four years,” he said. “And offensively this has been their best season of those years.”

– Spoelstra said his respect for Atkinson has been long standing.

– “And this goes to when he was in Brooklyn,” Spoelstra said. “We used to have some battles against Brooklyn. We all thought he did a great job in establishing a culture of work. They got better. Player development. All of those things. I was shocked when he wasn’t retained.”

– He added, “He’s a big part of what they’re doing.”

– With Herro out due to illness and with four other rotation players back in Miami nursing injuries, the Heat opened with a lineup of Bam Adebayo, Kevin Love, Alec Burks, Davion Mitchell and Terry Rozier.

– Adebayo remained true with his jumper, showing he could get a double-double even without Rony Seikaly in the house.

– Haywood Highsmith and Duncan Robinson entered as the first two off the Heat bench.

– Kyle Anderson then entered, again playing as the Heat’s backup center, with Ware out.

– Anderson’s first rebound was the 3,000th of his career.

– Anderson was very good in his minutes, even with some force fed at center.

– Pelle Larsson followed for nine deep.

– Of his team’s offense being up in recent games in terms of high assist totals, Spoelstra said, “There’s been intention from the players to really try to help each other get good shots. I really love that quality about this team.”

– He added, “There’s significant improvement on both sides of the ball. Defensively, we’re playing way more consistently, making it tough. And then offensively, we’ve probably had the biggest jumps of improvement the last three weeks.”

– Such math gets skewed against the quality of the Cavs.