J-Speaks: Hollywood Versus South Beach In The 2020 NBA Finals

 

If there is one thing that we all have learned in the face of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic is to never take anything for granted or not to wait to do something special. When you have the opportunity to do something, like make history, you should always do your best to take advantage of that chance. That chance to win a championship is what awaits the 2020 Western Conference champions from the “City of Angels” against the squad from “South Beach” that is making unexpected return to the championship round after a six-year absence.

The 2020 NBA Finals from the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, FL between the Western Conference champion Los Angeles Lakers (52-19), the No. 1 Seed in the West versus the Eastern Conference champions in the No. 5 Seeded Miami Heat (44-29) will feature a plethora of storylines that would make those that create and produce soap operas and dramas for the silver and small screen jealous.

Four-time MVP, three-time NBA champion and three-time Finals MVP LeBron James will be trying to lead his third team to a title against the team in the Heat he helped to lead to four straight Finals appearances (2010-2014) and two straight Larry O’Brien trophies (2012-2013).

He looked every bit like a player on a mission to lead the Lakers to their fourth title registering his fourth triple-double of this postseason and 27^th of his postseason career with 38 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in the 117-107 Game 5 clinching win of the Western Conference Finals versus the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.

James was especially at his best scoring 16 of his 38 points in the fourth quarter in punching the Lakers ticket to their 32^nd trip to The Finals in franchise history.

“I channeled it through my teammates,” James said to NBA on TNT’s Allie LaForce during the Western Conference Finals trophy presentation after the win. “My teammates said, ‘bring us home.’ And it’s my responsibility to try to make the right plays, and to the right things out on the floor to help us win ball games.”

“We have a few guys on this team that’s never been to The Finals. So, I took that responsibility as well, and my shoulders is wide enough to carry a lot of load, but my mind is stronger. I always keep my mind strong, and I’m happy to just be in this position.”

This will be the 10^th appearance for James in the league’s championship round, tying him with Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who led the Lakers to five championships playing alongside fellow Hall of Famers Earvin “Magic” Johnson during the “Showtime” era of the 1980s. Only famed Hall of Famers of the Boston Celtics Sam Jones and the great Bill Russell have appeared in The Finals more times at 11 and 12 respectably than James has in NBA history. He is looking to join Robert Horry and John Salley as the only three players to win a title with three different teams.  

"I'm extremely proud to be a part of this franchise, getting back where it belongs, and that's playing for championships and competing for championships. And representing the Western Conference this year in the championship," James said in his postgame presser after the Game 5 clincher. "This is what I came here for."

It is no surprise that the Lakers are in position to win their 17^th title in franchise history, which would tie the Celtics for the most in NBA history once they acquired now seven-time All-Star Anthony Davis from the New Orleans Pelicans last summer.

Davis was also great in the Game 5 clincher versus the Nuggets with 27 points, five boards and two steals.

“It feels good. You know, it’s good to get something like this accomplished with this group of guys,” Davis said to LaForce also during the trophy presentation. “We’ve battled through a lot this year, starting at the beginning of this season. It’s a great feeling, but we got four more wins for the ultimate goal.”

The 2020 All-NBA First-Team members in James and Davis have been sensational in leading the Lakers to a 12-3 mark in defeating the No. 8 Seeded Portland Trail Blazers (35-39); the No. 4 Seeded Houston Rockets (44-28) and the No. 3 Seeded Denver Nuggets (46-27) in the first three rounds of the Western Conference playoffs. They won their first three series 4-1.

James has averaged 26.7 points, 10.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists on 54.7 percent from the field so far in the postseason, while Davis has registered a team-leading 28.8 points, 9.3 boards, and 3.6 assists on 57.1 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from three-point range.

When Davis have combined for 60-plus points this season (regular season and playoffs), the Lakers are gone 18-1.

As impressive as the Lakers have been in their run to the championship round of the 2020 NBA postseason in Orlando, the team that resides just south of Central Florida in the Heat have been just as, if not more impressive in their playoff run in the East.

They swept the No. 4 Seeded Indiana Pacers (45-28) 4-0 in the First-Round. Proceeded then to take down the No. 1 Seed in the East and overall top record in the league in the Milwaukee Bucks (56-17) in the Semifinals 4-1. The Heat capped their run through the East by taking down the No. 3 Seeded Boston Celtics (48-24) in the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2 to equal the Lakers mark of 12-3 in the 2020 Playoffs.

The Heat during this incredible run have been led by their prized off-season acquisition in 2020 All-NBA Third-Team member in Jimmy Butler (20.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.9 spg, 45.7 FG%, 36.7 3-Pt.%), whose no-nonsense, tell it like it is, never back down, work until you drop personality was embraced by the organizations leaders in Hall of Famer Pat Riley and head coach Erik Spoelstra, and its young players right from the start because they are cut from the same cloth.

It is a credit to the five-time All-Star, whose personality was scoffed at by Bulls, who drafted him with the No. 30 and final overall pick in 2011; and simply did not mesh with the Minnesota Timberwolves and their All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns or with the Philadelphia 76ers, and their leading men in All-Stars Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

As a result, rookie guard Tyler Herro (16.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.9 apg, 46.3 FG%, 37.8 3-Pt.%); first time All-Star in his second season in big man Bam Adebayo (18.5 ppg, 11.4 rpg, 4.9 apg, 57.1 FG%) and second-year sharp-shooter Duncan Robinson (11.3 ppg, 40/.0 3-Pt.%), along with veterans in Goran Dragic (20.9 ppg-Leads team, 4.7 apg, 45.2 FG%, 36.3 3-Pt.%) and Jae Crowder (12.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg. 34.4 3-Pt.%) along with Butler have risen to the moment and never settled on the fact of growing into a title contender, but played to the level that they can win the franchise’s fourth title in their first Finals appearance after a six-year absence.

Butler after a couple of subpar games in the East Finals had a solid performance with 22 points and eight assists in the Game 6 clincher versus the Celtics with 22 points and eight assists in the 125-113 win on Sunday night.

“It means everything,” Butler said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on making it to The Finals for the first time in his career during the Eastern Conference Finals trophy presentation. “This is why we all play. To win it.”

“We talked about all year long. We stayed confident through the injuries, the ups and downs. We always stayed together. Continued to play together. We do this as a team…four more to go. But if a group can do it, we can do it.”  

Adebayo, who took full blame for the 121-108 loss in Game 5 at the Celtics came through in a big way with a career-high of 32 points with 14 rebounds and five assists on 11 for 15 from the field in the Game 6 victory.

“I just had to get locked in. You know, I couldn’t let my teammates down like I did in the game before,” Adebayo said to ESPN’s Rachel Nichols during the Eastern Conference Finals trophy presentation after the win. “So, just tried to execute, make plays and I did that tonight.”

It is that mindset that could be the Heat’s best friend as they head into a series where they cannot match the skill and talent of the Lakers dynamic twosome of James and Davis.

That was proven during their tilts during the regular season where the Lakers won both, outscoring the Heat 104.0 to 95.0; outshot them 47 percent to 41 percent and scoring 10 more second chance points 17.5 to 7.5.

Davis in the two wins against the Heat averaged 29.5 points and nine boards on 59 percent from the floor.

For the Heat to have a real chance of winning this series, they will need the All-Star tandem of Butler and Adebayo to really play well on both ends.

While stopping James from being dominant is wishful thinking, Butler will have to at least contain him, which is also wishful thinking.

Adebayo will need to dominate his matchup against the Lakers big man duo of in Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee.

Herro, Dragic, Robinson, Crowder and Kelly Olynyk will have to play to the level they have throughout this postseason, especially from three-point range. 

During this postseason, the Heat have connected on 38 percent of their three-point attempts. After a solid start from three-point range in the first two games where they hit 16 and 14 triples on their way to a 2-0 series lead in the East Finals, the Heat managed to hit 12, 10, and seven threes in Games 3, 4, and 5, connecting on 27, 27 and 19 percent on their threes respectably in going 1-2 in those contests.

In their 121-108 loss in Game 5 on Friday, the Heat were registered a postseason-lows with those seven made three-pointers, going 7 for 36, an in percentage from three-point range at 19 percent.

They got back on track in the Game 6 clincher where they went 13 for 27 (48.1 percent) from three-point range, going 5 for 10 in the first quarter; 4 for 10 in the third quarter and a perfect 3 for 3 from three-point range in the fourth quarter.

Dragic has played at an elite level throughout this postseason with his ability to score by getting to the free throw line by attacking the basket, while also making shots from the mid-range and three-point range.

Adebayo and Butler’s ability to initiate the Heat’s offensive is a major reason why Dragic has been able to be an effective scorer and how the Heat’s shooters in Herro and Robinson have been able to get solid looks from three-point range and make them.

“Obviously, this group here more than anything, they just love to compete,” Coach Spoelstra said during the trophy presentation about the team’s mindset since the NBA’s restart. “We’re so grateful for this opportunity in this bubble.”

“This group would’ve done it in an empty gym with nobody watching. Just toss that ball up, and I just love the fact that this group is so pure, and they enjoy each other’s success. Its’ a special group.”

As important as it will be for the Heat to make shots offensively, especially from three-point range, it will be vital that if they get a lead on the Lakers, they maintain it. Why? When the Lakers have led entering the fourth quarter counting the regular season and postseason, they are a perfect 53-0.

While the Heat supporting cast may have the edge in youth, talent and skill, the Lakers supporting cast around James and Davis outside of youngsters in Kyle Kuzma (10.5 ppg, 45.8 FG%) and Alex Caruso (6.6 ppg), and veterans of seven and nine years Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (9.9 ppg, 42.1 3-Pt.%) and Markieff Morris in Rajon Rondo (9.1 ppg, 7.2 apg 1.6 spg, 50.0 FG%, 44.8 3-Pt.%), Danny Green (8.1 ppg, 36.4 3-Pt.%), McGee and Howard bring Finals experience, which consists of six rings won between those four individuals. 

“When you have a talented group like we have that buys into playing harder than our opponent every night, playing more physical than our opponent every night, playing scrappy, you can accomplish great things,” Lakers first-year head coach Frank Vogel, who will be the 10^th Lakers’ head coach to reach The Finals said after win.

Rondo and Green will have to be especially scrappy defensively this round as they will be tasked with slowing down the Heat’s top offensive player in Dragic. This might be the one series where they might miss the defensive talents of perimeter defensive ace Avery Bradley, who opted out of the NBA’s restart in Orlando.

The task of slowing down Adebayo, especially from dominating in the paint on both ends will go to Howard, McGee, Davis, the 2019-20 Kia Defensive Player of the Year runner-up and possibly James.

How much attention the Lakers give to Adebayo will all depend on how often the Heat call Adebayo’s number at the offensive end because as good of an all-around player that he is, Adebayo is not really counted on to strike a match consistently down low offensively, even though he did exactly that against the Celtics in Game 6 clincher against the Celtics, where he had 16 points, 11 rebounds and five assists coming in the second half of the Game 6 clincher.  

The only championship experience the Heat possess is from Coach Spoelstra, 17-year veteran, who is more of an assistant coach in Udonis Haslem, and 16-year veteran of three titles won with the Golden State Warriors during the last decade in 2015 Finals MVP Andre Iguodala, who had a flashback in the Game 6 win of the East Finals versus the Celtics with 17 points on a perfect 4 for 4 from three-point range.

This moment for both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat of reaching the 2020 NBA Finals is one to cherish because for both franchises it took a lot of hard work to get to this point again.

To put what this Finals tilt between these two squads into context, this will be the first time in NBA history that the finalists are teams that did not make the playoffs the year before as the Lakers and Heat began their off seasons early in 2019.

For the Lakers, this will be their first appearance in the Finals since 2010, where the late great Kobe Bryant led them to their 16^th title over the arch-rival Celtics in seven games.

On top of that, this was their first postseason appearance after a franchise-long six-year absence.

For the Heat, this will be their first Finals appearance since 2014, where the James, future Hall of Famers Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh led crew lost in five games to the San Antonio Spurs.   

Prior to this postseason appearance, the Heat had missed the playoffs in three of the past five seasons.

They will join the 1999 No. 8 Seeded New York Knicks and the 1995 back-to-back World Champion Houston Rockets, the No. 5 Seed that postseason as lower seeds to reach The Finals under the 16-team seeding format that began in 1984. The Heat hope to be the second team to capture the Larry O’Brien trophy.

“I think Coach Pat [Riley] and everybody else in the organization did a great job of putting this group together. We’ve been together. Been in each other’s corner all year long, and it doesn’t stop here. We got four more to go,” Butler said of the Heat’s confidence entering The Finals. 

Butler added in his postgame presser after their Game 6 clincher, "If you want to win, you're going to have to go through a LeBron James led team. Obviously, you can't just focus in on him because he has so many good players around him. But you're going to get the same test over and over again until you pass it. And that test is LeBron James.

The Heat will not be out-worked, out-hustled or lack for effort, energy, or purpose when they face the Lakers in The Finals starting with Game 1 on Wednesday night, especially under head coach Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley’s watch. For them to win this series though, they will have to play with that energy, enthusiasm, and determination from the opening tip and not let up on either end of the floor.

“Man, we’ve been underdogs our whole lives,” Adebayo said about the Lakers being favored big time to beat them in The Finals. “Everybody up here got a chip on their shoulder from something. So, man, it’s a toss-up when we get in The Finals.”

That will not be easy against a Lakers squad that will features two of the best in the game in LeBron James and Anthony Davis, where James is looking for add to his future Hall of Fame legacy and Davis is trying to start his own legacy in just his third career appearance in the postseason.

On top of that, if the Lakers win this title round, they will tie the Boston Celtics for the most championships by an NBA franchise with 17.  

While the Heat will bring grit, hustle, and tenacity to the floor in this series, they will not bring a top-tier player that hears his legacy calling his name.

James, who has gone 3-6 in his first nine Finals appearances hears that call and is ready to answer it in a big way starting in as mentioned Game 1 on Wednesday night in Orlando, FL at 9 p.m. on ABC.  

“There’s only two teams that can advance to The Finals every year…,” James said. “But we got to understand that we’ve got bigger fish to fry. We understand there’s a bigger goal. But we can’t take this for granted because this doesn’t happen every year to anybody.”

Prediction: Lakers in six games.

Information, statistics, and quotations are courtesy of 9/16/2020 3 p.m., “NBA: The Jump,” on ESPN, presented by Best Buy with Rachel Nichols, Richard Jefferson, and Kendrick Perkins; 9/18/2020 11:30 p.m. “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille O’Neal; 9/26/2020 11:30 p.m. “Inside the NBA,” presented by Kia, the Western Conference trophy presentation on TNT with Ernie Johnson, Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, and Allie LaForce; 9/27/2020 7:30 p.m. Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals “Boston Celtics versus Miami Heat” on ESPN, presented by AT&T 5G with Mike Breen, Jeff Van Gundy, Mark Jackson, and Rachel Nichols; 9/292/2020 6:30 p.m. NBATV's "Gametime," presented by YouTubeTV with Ro Parrish and Gary Payton 9/29/2020 www.nba.com story, “2020 NBA Finals Preview: LeBron Faces Former Squad, Rebuilt In His Wake,” by Shaun Powell; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers; https://www.espn.com/nba/team/_/name/mia/miami-heat; https://www.espn.com/nba/matchup?gameid=401247147; and https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Jones_(basketball).