LAKERS 2020 NBA CHAMPIONS!

Final Score: LAL 106 MIA 93 - LAKERS WIN 4-2!

HOW BOUT THEM LAKERS? HOW...BOUT...THEM...LAKERS??????? I am smiling from ear to ear as I'm typing this post. I'm a couple hours late since the game ended due to a whole lot of celebrating and sharing with my Laker friends and family. After a bitter Game 5 defeat, the Lakers got it done tonight. They put together a defense to offense clinic to close out the scrappy Miami Heat in six in a 106-93 victory to capture the franchise' 17th title in its history. They tie their bitter rivals, Boston Celtics, for the most titles in NBA history.

I just reflect on this. It's been 10 years since I opened up this blog. Between the Raiders and Lakers, I knew it was more of a guarantee to cover a Lakers championship season. But it hasn't worked that way in these past 9 years. I've covered nearly all the NBA Finals in that span, but I was hoping, wishing I'd cover an NBA Finals here on this blog with the Lakers being involved. As much of a horrible year 2020 currently is for us Laker fans and for myself personally, I wanted this moment more than anything. And it feels great. Of all the 100+ recaps on this blog, I'm going to remember this one for a very long time.

First off, Heat Nation, I tip my hat off to you and your team. It wasn't an easy task to face off against this young, scrappy Miami Heat team. You can hold your heads high on this team. They will be a problem in the East for years to come as long as Pat Riley and Erik Spoelstra are engineering this organization. With the improbable run they had, they will for sure be a destination for enticing free agents who want to join a championship-contending team. 

But, there could only be one champion and the Lakers took care of business and ended this whole NBA bubble fiasco. It's an old cliché in sports that "defense wins championships." And it was exemplified tonight. Frank Vogel, once again, came up with a big time adjustment by reshuffling the starting lineup. He put AD at the Center position and inserted Alex Caruso in the starting lineup for more defensive pressure. It wasn't until the 2nd quarter where we saw this adjustment as the most ingenious adjustment. 

The Lakers put on a defensive masterpiece that 2nd quarter. They ballooned the lead to as many as 28 points and outscored the Heat 36 to 16. It was then and there that this game was over. They just took the fight out of the Miami Heat. The final score may not be reflection of this game, but Miami was absolutely brutalized as the Lakers constantly imposed their will. I said it last game, they had to come out "pissed off" after losing in those Black Mamba jerseys the last game. And the Lakers had no hesitation of pounding them into submission. To make matters worse, the Heat were missing free throws and absolutely missed so many bad shots. It puts a little blemish on Miami's hard-fought postseason run.

Individual performances, I know this guy hates the "Playoff Rondo" nickname, but he absolutely deserves it. Let's upgrade that to "Championship Rondo." Rajon Rondo was big at the beginning of the series. The last few games, he was solid, but not as much as Games 1 and 2. Tonight, he rekindled and was on the attack: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal, three 3s off the bench. MVP of this game and certainly a part of history to win a champion as both a Boston Celtic and LA Laker. Alex Caruso's contribution won't show in the stats, but his insertion into the starting lineup certainly was a game-changer as the Lakers turned up the defensive heat (no pun intended) and played at a really fast pace in transition. Lakers were +20 when he was on the floor. KCP came up big once again with 17 points. Danny Green, way to shake off all the trash we gave you. Not an explosive performance, but Danny Green put up a solid 11 points and nailed three 3s. Anthony Davis bad heel and all was a monster on the boards and on the defensive end. He put up 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 2 blocks. Glad to see he was moving well after limping his way to the finish line last game.

LeBron James, no question about it, he deserved Finals MVP of this series. He tied the knot in this series with a triple-double of 28 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists tonight. There is no question that the Greatest of All Time (GOAT) conversation will reopen up after this. Let's be real here, Michael Jordan's 6-0 finals record will never be duplicated. But, we can't disregard LeBron's path as an all-time great in his own right: the only player to win championships and Finals MVP on three different teams. He's the only player since Bill Russell and 60's Celtics to make the NBA Finals for nearly a whole decade. Lead a team down 3-1 to a championship comeback for his home town against historically, the best regular season team ever. LeBron has a plethora of accomplishments that shouldn't be swept under the rug. And this championship adds on to his legacy. The scary part for all NBA teams outside of the Lakers? He's not done.

I'm not sure how I want to end this recap. It's such a bittersweet moment for this franchise after the tragedy on January 26 when we lost Kobe Bryant in that helicopter crash, a day after LeBron surpassed him on the NBA's all-time scoring list. This championship is dedicated to him, his daughter Gigi, and the other lives that were lost in that accident. This championship is also for Chick Hearn, Wilt Chamberlain, and Dr. Jerry Buss, the greatest owner in all of professional sports. On a personal note, this championship is for my late dad. As I mentioned, he was a Laker fan since the Showtime era and I wish my brother and I were celebrating with him now. This year was terrible all-around, but this is a silver lining.

Offseason-wise, definitely Anthony Davis is a must re-sign. The Lakers must continue to improve the roster in order to successfully defend the title next year. But all that will be decided a little later. The roster decisions made by Rob Pelinka for this year was beautifully orchestrated. After the Kawhi Leonard free agency fiasco, he unveiled a solid Plan B, built around LeBron and AD and, assembled a unit that Frank Vogel can get the best out of. He was the real Executive of the Year. They can take that to the bank. Also special shoutout to Dwight Howard. He has redeemed himself from 2012-13 and was absolutely deserving of this ring. This was full circle for him, becoming a champion in Orlando. I wouldn't be surprised if he retired after this (actually, let's bring him back please). I have nothing else to say. I will not post an annual "Season in Review." This is the cherry on top. All the things I said in the past about being against signing LeBron and trading the young core for AD, I'm going to eat some good crow tonight. Never have I been this happy to be wrong. Thank you LeBron. Please stay AD. Laker Nation, this year has been real. Let's continue to celebrate this win and celebrate responsibly. NBA Champions baby!!!!!!!!

Lakers Coronation Denied: Heat Stave Off Elimination

Final Score: MIA 111 LAL 108 - Lakers Lead 3-2

Welcome in to the full recap. The Miami Heat live to fight another day as they scratched and clawed to a 111-108 win. They prevent the Lakers from celebrating a 17th title tonight.

I'm gonna sound like a Debbie downer throughout this post. So bear with me. 

WE WERE SO CLOSE!

The finish of that game really hurt. If you're an NBA fan, definitely this was a game for the ages. Especially when the Lakers rallied, both these teams exchanged bucket after bucket. And it set up a thrilling finish at the end.

But if you're a Laker fan, like I am, I feel like my heart just shattered into a thousand pieces after seeing that final possession. They just needed one bucket. Heat had no timeouts and had to go the length the court. And they came up empty handed.

In all fairness, kudos to the Miami Heat. This has been their M.O. throughout the postseason. They haven't been in a 3-1 hole and as I mentioned last game, I expected them to come out as the more desperate team. And they did just that. Jimmy Butler stepped up when he needed to. 35 points, 11 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 steals. He's one of the best two-way players for a reason. But, the main killer this game was Duncan Robinson. He has been a consistent double-figure scorer this postseason, but this kid had the game of his life tonight. 27 points and shot a scorching hot 7-13 from 3s. He made a couple of four-point play opportunities from those. Kendrick Nunn also stepped up with 14 points off the bench. He literally was the bench as Miami went with a 7-man rotation tonight.

Now onto the Lakers, total wasted effort tonight. It's been awhile since I've been this disappointed. LeBron James laid it all on the line out there with 40 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 3 steals. He was smoking the race for Finals MVP. He played throughout the entire 4th quarter.

Wasted. 

Anthony Davis, bad heel and all, doing it on both ends of the floor with 28 points, 12 rebounds, 3 steals, and 3 blocks. He was hobbled during those final seconds and still willed himself in true Mamba Mentality fashion to finish the game.

Wasted.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had another big game. He finished with 16 points on 6-15 shooting. He gave the Lakers back their first lead with a three at the 6:20 mark and had another big bucket to put them up by three.

Wasted. Wasted all because of a botched final possession. LeBron made a play, got the Heat defense to gravitate towards him. Danny Green is all alone at the top, had a wide open look and he missed it. Markieff Morris had the rebound, he had LeBron open at the wing, but opted to force a pass inside to AD. Out of bounds. Heat basketball. The Lakers lose for the first time in the Mamba jerseys.

The supporting cast outside of KCP, Rondo, and Dwight with the limited minutes he had were such a huge letdown. I've defended Kyle Kuzma all postseason long. But, he was garbage tonight. 'Kieff was a non-factor tonight. Alex Caruso also didn't make too much of an impact. Danny Green, I could care less if he was +8 on the floor. As if he can't disappoint us more enough offensively in these playoffs. He had the chance to be the Lakers' John Paxson in 1993 and erase everything we've said about him throughout. But, nope same old Danny Green. Seriously, "how many more" threes are you gonna miss? Huge letdown.

I got nothing more to say. They lost in the Mamba jerseys. Just drop the show now. You only win once with them every round. As I mentioned, I had this series go six, but the way the Lakers dropped the ball tonight, I have never been this disappointed to see my prediction come true. If Miami won by 15, I wouldn't have any problem. But, it was such a close game that met a disappointing finish, especially when LeBron and AD were giving it everything they got. It's a wait and see on Sunday. We'll be refreshing the news feed on AD's aggravated heel injury. But, the Lakers gotta look back at this and come out in Game 6 with a lot of anger. The Heat were more aggressive tonight. It's a must that the Lakers respond in kind, especially after a letdown like this. I'll see you guys later.

Lakers Grind Out W vs. Heat to Take 3-1 Lead

Final Score: LAL 102 MIA 96 - Lakers Lead 3-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers rebounded from an ugly Game 3 loss that was marred by turnovers and foul trouble. They pick up the victory tonight in a 102-96 win and take once again a 3-1 lead. They're only one win away from their 17th NBA Championship.

This was not an easy game to close out. The Heat are a very dangerous team when you let them within striking distance, especially in that 4th quarter. This was a slow game to start. But a good defensive one. At the 2nd half though, the Lakers once again did what they did and clamp down on the Miami Heat offense. No Jimmy Butler to go off for another 40-point game. He started a perfect 5-5 in the first quarter, but struggled mightily down the stretch. Frank Vogel made the adjustment of having Anthony Davis guard Butler rather than the returning Bam Adebayo and AD's presence proved to be a huge factor for the Lakers today. Coach Vogel was on top of the adjustments this game with AD checking Butler and making the 2nd half adjustment in putting Markieff Morris in the starting lineup when Dwight Howard was ineffective for the most part this game. 

AD the last game was a non-factor due to early foul trouble. But tonight, he impacted the game all-around. As I mentioned, Vogel assigned AD to guard Butler for the majority game. His size and length did a great job disrupting Jimmy B's line of sight to the basket for the most part. Down the stretch, he was huge on both ends with a dagger three to put the Lakers up 100-91 and a big block on Butler in the final seconds to deny Miami's bid for an improbable run. He bounced back with a solid all-around game with 22 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks.

LeBron James struggled early on in this game. He was held in check to single digits in the first half. But the second half is when he really got going. The turnovers were still prevalent as James committed 6 turnovers, leading the Lakers in that category. He did take some questionable shot selections from behind the arc. The Lakers were in a close game and he just continued to chuck up 3s in that third quarter. Luckily enough, Rajon Rondo was in position to block out and get the offensive rebounds during those sequences for the Lakers.

The supporting cast showed up for this game. As I mentioned, Rondo didn't score much with 2 points, but was impactful on the offensive boards with 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma had a dip in scoring that we expected on game-by-game basis, but each contributed with 9 points. Alex Caruso added 7 points and sacrificed his body like usual to draw charges. Danny Green got off to a hot start with 10 points, but cooled off since then. The main headline though, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, had 15 points. KCP was huge tonight with 8 points to start. He cooled down a little bit. But in the big moment, he went on a mini 5-0 run with a clutch 3 in the corner and a driving layup to put the Lakers up 95-88 in the final seconds of the 4th. He can be hard to trust in those situations, but the poise was evident out there. You can say Klutch Sports took over this game for the Lakers. LeBron, AD, and KCP are a part of that agency with agent, Rich Paul. They are the top three leading scorers for the Lakers tonight. 

The free throw disparity was the main reason that this game was close for the most part. I think I remember on the ESPN graphic, the Lakers only had 3 free throw attempts while the Heat had 16 of them. You could tell all the calls were favoring the Heat for the most part. Miami got away with a whole lot of contact in some spurts of the game. By the end of the game though, the Lakers were starting to get calls in their favor and the fact that they put Miami in the penalty early on was huge. By the end of the game, the free throws were a lot closer with the Heat attempting 26 while the Lakers finished with 21 free throw attempts.

Well, the Lakers have been here before if the last three series were any indication. Miami has not been in this situation throughout this postseason. The Lakers are one win away from another title. The job is not finished though as Kobe Bryant would mutter out. Especially with two extra days, the Heat have ample time to be at full strength. We don't know how serious Goran Dragic's foot is or whether he can return to the court. Regardless, you can expect the Heat to come out with more desperation than they have all postseason long. For the Lakers, this is it. The message for Game 5 is simple: leave nothing out there on the court! LeBron and AD have to kick it into high gear. The supporting cast, we're going to need you to step your game up once more. Just for this one more game, leave nothing behind and give it your all. Get this 'ship! For Kobe! For Gigi! For Chick Hearn! And for Dr. Jerry Buss! Just one more baby! Let's wrap this up on Friday! I'll see you guys later.

"The Butler Did It" - Lakers Couldn't Contain Jimmy Buckets in Game 3 Loss

Final Score: LAL 104 MIA 115 - Lakers Lead 2-1

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. The shorthanded Miami Heat pulled off an inspiring performance, behind Jimmy Butler's 40-point triple-double as they beat the heavily-favored Lakers 104-115.

Despite the loss, the Lakers hung around  throughout the game, eventually recapturing the lead at 91-89 at the 9:01 mark in the 4th. It was just a couple of things that were eventually magnified down the stretch. For the good parts of the game: Markieff Morris and Kyle Kuzma stepped up with the scoring off the bench. They combined for 38 points, 19 each, both on 6-13 shooting. They brought the scoring and 3-point spark while the rest were a non-factor in that category. 

The offense got off to a very slow start with turnovers and early foul trouble from AD. Kuz and Kieff's timely buckets kept the Lakers hanging around when it looked like the Heat were pulling away. LeBron James had to pick up the slack when the Heat completely took out Anthony Davis this game. It was a mixed bag game for LeBron with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 blocks but 8 turnovers and he did struggle from the free throw line.

I already hinted at the games, so I'll go in-depth on them. The turnovers and AD in foul trouble are two big negatives that kept the Lakers out of reach this game. They started off the game with 10 turnovers in the first quarter! They totaled 19 turnovers throughout the game. The ball movement was so sloppy tonight. While there was more activity on Miami's defensive end than the last two games, it was more so of a series of mental errors on the Lakers' part tonight. 

Anthony Davis is off to hot start in these finals. This game? Not so much. The big reason? Foul trouble. AD committed 3 fouls in the 1st half and it pretty took him off his game and forced the Lakers to play small ball. The Heat cashed in on that opportunity big time. The Lakers' loss of rim protection is the Heat's gain of spacing the floor. That lack up of rim protection opened huge lanes for them to attack the basket and the Lakers were caught rotating late because of the miscommunication on defense. It also allowed them to just zone in on LeBron, despite the fact he still dominated found ways to attack the paint.

We gotta give where credit is due, Jimmy Butler put the team on his back tonight with 40 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. The Laker defense had no answer for him. It didn't matter who was on him. He looked like Michael Jordan out there, automatic with his midrange jumper. He did most of his damage when smaller guys like KCP and Caruso guarded him off a switch. He was as aggressive as a facilitator as well. Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson, and Kelly Olynyk were each in double figures. Tyler Herro struggled for most of the game, but finished strong with clutch scoring to put the game on ice. All of them got the benefit off of Jimmy Buckets' unselfish play.

We shouldn't be surprised. The Lakers tend to drop a game throughout this postseason. But really, it was such an uncharacteristic game with the early turnovers and AD in foul trouble. Solid performances by Kuz and Kieff off the bench were definitely wasted tonight. It's difficult to ask for consistency from them. We'll see what happens. The Lakers are expected to still take the championship. But, the Heat will be rewarded for this inspiring performance with Bam Adebayo getting healthy for Game 4 to bolster their frontcourt. It was fun while it lasted, but the Lakers have to rebound and stay locked in. These NBA Finals are far from done based on how this game went. I'mma have to jump in to the Raiders-Bills recap now. It's not a good feeling when both these teams lose on the same day. I'll see you guys later.

AD, LeBron, Rondo Dominate Shorthanded Heat to Take 2-0 Series Lead

Final Score: MIA 114 LAL 124 - Lakers Lead 2-0

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. Despite being shorthanded, the Heat did all they can. But, they were overmatched at the end of the day as the Lakers dominate them again 114-124 to take a 2-0 series lead.

We're halfway there. Miami came in absolutely overmatched with Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic out. We expected the Lakers to take advantage of this mismatch. For the most part, they did. They did what needed to be done. Against LeBron and AD when they're roaming in the paint, the Heat's zone defense were sitting ducks. They were just absolutely void of size and length to counter the dynamic duo for the purple and gold.

LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Rajon Rondo carried this team to this win. AD just brutalized the Heat, especially in that 3rd quarter. Nobody on Miami's roster was able to box him out or put a body on him. It didn't matter because the Brow barely missed from the field and was a machine on the offensive boards. He finished with 32 points and 14 rebounds on 15-20 shooting. As I keep saying throughout when he puts up these kinds of numbers: he's a man among boys.

LeBron James lead the team with 33 points. He almost recorded a triple-double with 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Pretty much, if you're the shorthanded Heat playing your typical zone defense, you have AD manhandling your entire roster. Once you put more attention on him, that frees up LeBron to attack. There's no sugarcoating it, the Heat defense have no answer in slowing down LeBron and AD. They are in a no-win situation when they have to account for both, especially missing key guys on the floor.

Rajon Rondo was huge off the bench with 16 points and 10 assists and connected on three 3-pointers. I'll get to the atrocious 3-point shooting shortly, but Rondo was the only one who was consistently knocking them down tonight. The Heat dared him to shoot and they paid the price for that. Against the zone, he picked Miami apart. He picked his spots and scored or found AD or LeBron roaming in the paint. He may not like the "Playoff Rondo" nickname. But time and time throughout this postseason he has came up big.

The only reasons that this game was close than it should've been was the high number of 3-point attempts and the Lakers gifting them free throws. Especially, when they have AD dominating like he did in the 3rd quarter, they let the Heat hang around with foul trouble. They are a great free throw shooting team and had 34 attempts and connected on 31 of those free throws. Not to mention, Heat players who barely played stepped up, especially Kelly Olynyk. I wouldn't know what to say if the Heat came back thanks to a 24-point performance from Olynyk off the bench. 

The 3-point shooting was the most frustrating part of the game. The Lakers set a finals record for 3-pointers attempted with 47 shots from behind the arc. But they only connected on 16 of them. This game should've been a 30-point win against this hapless, injury-ridden Miami Heat squad if the Lakers connected on 50% of those attempts! The open shots missed by Danny Green and KCP on the wings pissed me off. It's amazingly bad when Rondo shoots more efficiently than them when he's not even a good 3-point shooter himself. It should never come to that. Overall, the supporting cast outside of Rondo and Dwight Howard who got off to a hot start with 6 points and 2 blocks, was underwhelming compared to Game 1. As I said, the Lakers made this game close than it should've been because they were hideous on the 3-point game. You miss those, you let a good 3-point shooting team and a good free throw shooting team to hang around.

Whether it's a 10-point win or should've been a 30-point win, what's constant is that the Lakers handled their business tonight. They stay perfect with a 4-0 record when donning the Mamba jerseys in this postseason. As for Miami, they may be overmatched, but they have some fight left in them. It's not going to be easy to put away this team. The only difference is that this Heat team is not used to being down 0-2. Throughout these playoffs, they've gone 2-0 and they're confidence soared. The tables have turned. We don't know how long Dragic is out. We don't know how long Bam is out. The Lakers must stay the course and put Miami out of their misery for these next two games. I'll see you guys on Sunday for Game 3.

Lakers Crush the Heat in NBA Finals Opener

Final Score: MIA 98 LAL 116 - Lakers Lead 1-0

Welcome in to the full recap of Game 1 of the 2020 NBA Finals. The Lakers overcome an early 13-point deficit and never looked back. LeBron, AD, and the rest of the supporting cast helped the Lakers cruise past the Heat to a 98-116 shellacking to take Game 1 in this series.

One down, three more to go. Miami showed no fear at the start of the game. The 2-3 zone was effective early on. It got the Lakers off rhythm and they got off to a good start offensively to take the early 23-10 lead in the first quarter. The Lakers had to take two timeouts during that quarter to get things settled. They get a much needed spark from KCP. KCP knocked down back-to-back threes to get the Lakers within 7 points. From then on, they went on a 19-3 run to close at the quarter. The impressive part is that most of the points they've accumulated on that spurt, LeBron was taking his normal rest on the bench. Miami last saw the lead at the 7:33 mark of the 2nd quarter off a 3-point bucket from Tyler Herro. After that, it was all Lakers with AD and LeBron doing most of the damage.

Big ups to the supporting cast for showing up tonight. I said it in my preview, they must step up if the Lakers want to beat the 2-3 zone, which is the staple of the Heat defense. Which means they gotta be active, get to their spots, and also knock down their threes. They did that tonight. They started shooting an efficient 11-17 from threes. KCP as I mentioned started that with the back-to-back threes to let the Lakers shake off some Game 1 Finals jitters. He finished with 13 points, 2 steals, and 1 block. Danny Green was also big on both ends with 11 points, 2 steals, and 3 blocks. Kyle Kuzma may have struggled in scoring, but he crashed the boards with 8 points. What won't show up on the stats sheet is how good of a job he did defending the rookie stud, Tyler Herro. Every time those two matched up, Kuz got the better of Herro with his size and length. Dwight Howard, also didn't have a lot of eye-opening numbers, but he did his job in crashing the boards for 2nd chance points and playing unselfish basketball finding a cutting AD twice for easy dunks. Alex Caruso lead the bench in scoring with 10 points. Markieff Morris followed with 8 points. And Rajon Rondo added with 7 points and 4 assists. We're gonna need this group to be consistent if the Lakers are serious on taking home the title.

It was not a bad debut for Anthony Davis in his first NBA Finals game. He might've been jittery at the start, but he overcame those same jitters by piling up 34 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 blocks. As I said, he's going to have to come up big once again. Outside of Bam Adebayo, the Heat have nobody else to check him because they are notorious for playing small ball. Once Bam went out of the game, the Heat simply just had no answer for a very aggressive and active AD. As for LeBron, he got the better of his former team on this one. He finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 9 assists. He was 1 assist shy of yet another triple-double in the finals. And he took the assignment of shadowing Jimmy Butler early on, which is to be expected. You always want to see a team's best player defend the opposition's best, especially in the biggest stage like these NBA Finals.

Despite the dominant win, I have one negative I want to call out and it's been a habit all season long. When the Lakers build up a big lead, they let their foot off the gas and make the scoreboard as respectable than indicated. The 4th quarter this game was supposed to be garbage time. Unfortunately, LeBron and AD have to keep playing until 1:23 left in the 4th when it's all said and done. If you're Frank Vogel, you don't want your two superstars to play unnecessary minutes when the opposition has been thoroughly outplayed up to the 4th. The Heat had the injury bug bite them tonight with Jimmy Butler sustaining ankle injury, Goran Dragic with a foot, and Bam Adebayo with a shoulder. Yet in some spurts, the Heat have cut the deficit and LeBron and AD have to play extended minutes to restore order and completely seal this game. I don't want to see LeBron and AD continue to play until the 1:23 mark of the 4th quarter when the Lakers already got this one in the bag. The last thing we want to see is an unnecessary injury in garbage time. Or if you can call it that because they let their guard down for a bit. I would call that the only blemish for this game and the supporting cast involved even though the entire team played great.

Overall, great win tonight. The Lakers were active and moving around, blowing up the Heat's zone defense. It's unfortunate on the injuries concerning Butler, Dragic, and Adebayo. As a fan, you don't want injuries on the opposition to be a blemish on your team's championship. But, then again they're part of the game and it's a "next man up" mentality. The Lakers flexed tonight under the LeBron's leadership. That man has been through the ups and downs in all 10 of his NBA Finals appearances and the Lakers have answered the call tonight. There's no question Erik Spoelstra and the Heat will make adjustments for next game. That tends to be the pattern in every series the Lakers have been in thus far throughout this postseason. 

I remember in 2009 when the Lakers dominated the Magic, Kobe Bryant said in his postgame regarding how the Magic would respond after one game in the finals: "this is nothing to them. We just gotta forget about this game and move on to the next one." That has to be the Lakers' mentality. They bullied the Heat this game. But it's only one game and you have to anticipate that they'll bounce back in a big way. Enjoy the win now. Forget it tomorrow and move onto Game 2. They have three more to go to capture that 17th title. I'll see you guys later.

2020 NBA Finals Preview: Lakers vs. Miami Heat

Welcome in to the 2020 NBA Finals preview. And then there were two! The Lakers are close to the finish line. But, they have one more obstacle standing in their way for championship #17. The Miami Heat have punched their ticket to the NBA Finals after defeating the Boston Celtics in 6. They too, are looking to add another championship banner in their franchise history.

The Miami Heat are better than what their record and seeding shows. They were the backend pick to emerge out of the Eastern Conference. The obvious front runners were the Milwaukee Bucks. Everybody penciled the Bucks in as the favorites. But, they were eliminated early on by this very same Heat team. 

The Heat are a team that plays hard on both ends of the floor. Given Coach Erik Spoelstra's pedigree on the defensive end, they defend at a high level, which is a testament to that hard-nosed culture that Pat Riley established down in South Beach. They are a team with young rising stars and a mix of battle-hardened veterans. Bam Adebayo has emerged as one of the best big men in the league. Tyler Herro is only a rookie, but he has blossomed into a superstar during this postseason run. Then, you add on one of the best two-way players in the league in Jimmy Butler and the veteran presence of Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, and Andre Iguodala. This team has a healthy balance of young and old that could score and defend. To top it all off, they played criminally underrated, unselfish team basketball throughout this season.

As I mentioned, this team is a backend pick to represent the Eastern Conference. Still, they have put together an improbable playoff run to the NBA Finals. They dispatched the Indiana Pacers easily in the first round. But from there, their playoff resume becomes more impressive. The Milwaukee Bucks were an odds-on favorite to possibly win it all with Giannis Antetokounmpo winning DPOY and MVP. The Heat absolutely broke their spirits in a gentlemen's sweep. It took the Bucks an OT win to stave off a complete 4-0 sweep, but it wasn't enough to stop the inevitable. In the Conference Finals, they made life tough on a decent, well-coached Celtics team. Their zone defense gave Kemba Walker, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and the rest of those guys all kinds of trouble.  

The Lakers may have swept the regular season series, but to notch wins against this very same Miami Heat was no easy task. Now, there are some different parts added / lost, which makes this matchup even more intriguing. The 2-3 zone defense is the longtime staple defense of the Heat. How the Lakers exploited that was that they had LeBron, AD, McGee, and Dwight attack the paint quickly before that zone defense could get set. To beat this zone, players have to be constantly on the move. The Lakers have LeBron and AD, but ball watching them should be held to a minimum. We need to see Laker players actively cutting and getting to their spots for an easy basket. Teams struggle with 2-3 zone if they don't have consistent knockdown shooters, which the Lakers obviously fall under. It's essential that guys like Caruso, KCP, Kuzma, and Markieff Morris are in the right spots at the right time, making LeBron and Rondo's job easy as the initiators on offense and to take some of the scoring load off Anthony Davis.

Regarding Bam Adebayo, the Lakers already faced a similar big man who can score and facilitate. I'm talking about Nikola Jokic in the most recent series with the Nuggets. Obviously Bam is much more athletic than Joker is and a much better defender. Throughout this postseason, Bam is the only true Center for the Heat. They do have Meyers Leonard and Kelly Olynyk, but they've committed to "small ball," which has worked for them to this point. The Lakers as they did with Jokic need to take Bam out of the game early. And it starts with the Lakers' big man trio of Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, and Javale McGee using their size and length to disrupt him.

As I mentioned before, AD is the jack-of-all-trades that can counter any skilled big man. He has the luxury of Dwight and Javale who could spare him as they're both solid rim protectors in their own right. I think the biggest factor is how healthy AD's ankle is. It could be a deciding factor in this series. Like in the Nuggets series, AD is going to have to be big here, especially since LeBron will have Jimmy Butler and Andre Iguodala checking him. Iggy may be getting up there in age, but he's one of the few that could defend LeBron, especially in these finals, dating back to the four consecutive Cavs-Warriors finals. But we know LeBron will be up for the challenge and still put up amazing numbers. AD must follow suit and take his game to a higher level on the NBA's biggest stage.

Tyler Herro, Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, and Duncan Robinson could blow up the Lakers' gameplans in smoke. We've raved about "Herro-ball" in the playoffs. But the savvy veteran Dragic has come on in the postseason as well. The Lakers facing him again is giving me PTSD on when they faced the Suns in 2010 Western Conference Finals. Dragic was a handful in those series and you don't want to wake up "the Dragon" like Sasha Vujacic did. He surprisingly leads this team in scoring this postseason with 21 a game. Overall, this is what is lowkey scary about this Heat team is that they have six different players scoring double digit points on a consistent basis. We mentioned Herro, Dragic, Butler, and Bam. But Jae Crowder and Duncan Robinson, they are knockdown shooters and have consistently connected on their 3-pointers throughout the postseason. For the Lakers, they've had their supporting options show up, but on a game-by-game basis. First, it would be KCP. Then Rondo. Then Caruso. Then Morris. No matter how you look at it, the supporting cast is going to need to show up consistently throughout these series for the Lakers to pull it out. Especially when canceling out six different double-digit scorers on one team.

This finals matchup does not have the prestige that a Lakers-Celtics matchup does, but there's a lot of legacy storylines to explore. This finals matchup is pretty much full circle for LeBron James. Ten years ago, "the Decision" happened. LeBron infamously announced that he was teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to a form a prime Big 3 with the Miami Heat. They won two championships out of four finals appearances. Pat Riley and the Heat culture helped LeBron get over that hump and turned him into an NBA champion. The Decision. The Homecoming. This is another challenge for LeBron's legacy. He has the chance to win the championship with one of the NBA's historic franchises against a team that turned him into a champion in the first place.

Erik Spoelstra has a lot riding on this matchup as well. He is a 2x NBA champion as head coach of the Miami Heat. But, many have questioned the legitimacy of those championships given that he inherited a team with 3 All-Stars in their prime. Since the end of the Miami "Big 3" era, Coach Spo has not gotten over that hump or rekindled that championship pedigree. He has a chance to prove that his championship coaching is not a product of that Miami superteam that was formed 10 years ago. And he'll prove that against the player that was the catalyst of that team coming together. 

Frank Vogel had a lot of interesting "chess matches" with Erik Spoelstra during those epic Heat-Pacers playoff series from 2012-2014. But, he always ended up on the short end of the stick. Vogel outcoaching Spo in the biggest stage would erase all those bitter losses especially now that he has LeBron this time around. This is the matchup that everybody will overlook. Both coaches implore their teams to play hard and defend at the highest level. 

Those are the legacy storylines thus far and there will be more surrounding this matchup. We've overexaggerated on the matchups against Portland, Houston, and Denver. But, I feel that the Heat give the Lakers a legitimate challenge in this postseason: an emerging big man, a fearless rookie, one of the best two-way players in the league, knockdown shooters, a veteran with championship experience, and a coach with championship experience. Not to mention, AD is a bit hobbled. We'll see how that ankle holds up. But, this should be a great finals matchup. Many have wanted a Lakers-Heat finals matchup for some time, especially when the Heat Big 3 formed and Kobe, Gasol, Phil Jackson, and the late 2000s Lakers still ruled the league with back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. It's an obscure matchup nowadays, but it still will be interesting to watch. The Lakers have a lot of finals experience with a superstar and four key veterans who've been there before. The Heat don't have that luxury. But, we gotta look back at the 2004 Detroit Pistons to prove that finals experience don't matter. This Heat team is young and they are hungry. They actually do remind me of those '04 Pistons. They defend at a high level and play unselfish basketball to give their teammates high percentage looks. As long as the Lakers stay locked in, things should be fine. I'd say this series goes six games and I'm confident that the Lakers will walk out of the NBA Bubble with the Larry O'Brien trophy in hand. Four more for Kobe! That's all that needs to be said. I'll see you guys on Wednesday.

Lakers Weekly Roundup #7: Southeast Road Trip

Roundup is back after a brief hiatus. The Lakers shook off the ugly loss against Dallas to open up the month of December. Last week, the Lakers made it known that the tough schedule wouldn't do them in. They notched road wins at Denver, at Utah, and at Portland. Arguably three of the most hostile environments and the Lakers shut out the decibels from those arenas. They had a brief home stint against Minnesota, but they were surprisingly in a shootout. But they pulled it off with AD's career night, dropping 50 points. Now, the Lakers are on the road again, putting the streak of wins outside Staples Center on the line once more. Their destination the past week? The South East: Florida and Georgia.

12/11: @ Orlando 96-87 [W] (22-3)

Orlando had the Lakers' number last year, there's no denying that. Now, that the Lakers have upgraded their talent, let's see what the Magic, a fringe playoff team last year can do now. Fair enough, they were missing a few bodies, Nikola Vucevic particularly. Even if Rondo and Kuz aren't playing this game, the Lakers still outmatch the Magic in talent. And it showed with a 26-9 shellacking in the first quarter and the Lakers didn't look back. Well, only for the first half. It's fair to say, the Lakers intentionally wanted to make things interesting by letting the Magic creep back in. Poor 3-point shooting and turnovers prevented the Lakers from attaining complete domination. Luckily enough, KCP and Jared Dudley (before he got ejected by backing up Dwight against Mo Bamba and Wes Iwundu) with their 3-point shooting down the stretch.

12/13: @ Miami 113-110 [W] (23-3)

This and Thursday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks to end the road trip are arguably the Lakers' biggest test on the this road stretch. Streaks were on the line this game as the Lakers leveraged their 12-game road winning streak vs. the Heat's 11-game home winning streak. Miami has been an unkind place for the Lakers in the last decade, but the purple and gold have turned things around as of late. This game was a slugfest as expected. LeBron and AD had their off night in Disney World, but there was no off day in South Beach as they combined for 61 points. Though, the only blemish on LeBron was his 8 turnovers. He struggled handling the ball as Miami's D made it rough with their quick hands and zone defense. But, rebounding proved to be their undoing, especially in the final seconds. Despite KCP's 50% conversion from the free throw line after Kendrick Nunn's 3-pointer to cut the lead to one and end the Heat's 11-0 start at home. The final play though, there was a lot of contact between LeBron and Jimmy Butler. The NBA's report acknowledged there should've been a foul call on there. We'll take the victory though.

12/15: @ Atlanta 101-96 [W] (24-3)

It's always gotta be testy in Atlanta. If the Falcons can come back against the mighty 49ers, I'm sure the Hawks can upset the Lakers. NOPE! Despite the Hawks being competitive, they still find ways to choke down the stretch. You got Trae Young pulling up from deep and clanking. Despite the not so dominant win, the Lakers still managed to put up some highlight reels to wow the crowd even against themselves. I'm looking at the play where Rondo faked an alley oop to LeBron and LeBron faked the chase down block afterwards. It would've made it on Shaqtin' if the block was made. Superman was in the building for only two points with a Dwight dunk off the between the legs bounce pass from LeBron. Despite the close games, the Lakers had all the confidence in the world that they're unstoppable. The wins and all are good, but honestly, it's not a good look if they continue to play down to their level of competition. Confidence is good and all, but too much confidence? Anyway, wins are wins.

Lakers Weekly Roundup Week 3: Keeping Up Momentum

The Lakers continue to stay hot after their opening loss to the Clippers. Start slow, finish strong has been the mantra for this Laker squad in all of their wins so far this season. Whether they can sustain this trajectory remains to be seen as the season progresses. Let's see how they fared this week?

11/05: @ Chicago 118-112 [W] (6-1)

HIGHLIGHTS

This had "trap game" written all over it. The first half pushed that narrative when the Bulls were up big. They were firing all cylinders from three. The Lakers usually go off to a slow start, but pick it up in the 2nd half. But down 48-65 in the first half? Quite a mountain to climb. But, LeBron accepted the challenge as he literally was the only player showed up and kept the Lakers afloat. Then the amazing run, lead by Alex Caruso, Quinn Cook, Dwight Howard, and Kyle Kuzma happened as the Lakers stormed back to take the lead and take control of the game for good. Anthony Davis had some hometown butterflies this game, but made up for it in the final minutes of the fourth quarter with a dagger 3 and an alley oop jam. LeBron once again triple-doubled with 30 points, 11 rebounds, and 13 assists. If there was a key to the Lakers' three-game road sweep, it was that LeBron had a triple-double in all three games. Meanwhile Quinn Cook and Kuzma lead the bench with 17 points and 15 points. This game, it did look like Kuz was getting his rhythm back. Once he gets back to form, look out.

11/08: vs. Miami 80-95 [W] (7-1)

HIGHLIGHTS

Unlike the last few games, the Lakers said "to hell with a slow start, let's get off to a fast start." And they got off to a fast start indeed in the first quarter. The key thing here was that Miami was coming off a shootout win over the Phoenix Suns while the Lakers had a few days to get ready for this game. The Heat still managed to make it tough on the Lakers with their patented 2-3 zone defense. You wonder why they've been a tough opponent for the Lakers in the past 10 years? That 2-3 zone gave them all kinds of fits. But, the Lakers managed to find a crack in that 2-3 zone, by having LeBron, AD, and JaVale McGee attack the middle as quickly as possible. LeBron knows this defense very well since his Heat playing days so of course he knows how to solve it. He and AD put the team on their back and dominated inside to give the Lakers' their 7th straight win.

11/10: vs. Toronto 113-104 [L] (7-2)

HIGHLIGHTS

Honestly, did you expect Toronto to lay down? They are the defending champs for a reason and will be known that way throughout the season until further notice. The travesty behind the Lakers' 2nd loss was that the Raptors were shorthanded this game. No Kyle Lowry. No Serge Ibaka. But, they still managed to beat the Lakers with solid defense and better overall offense thanks to big performances from Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam. This was supposed to be a revenge game for Danny Green, but he was a non-factor this game. LeBron had another triple-double, but the numbers were very pedestrian: 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 15 assists...on 5-15 shooting. Age concerns are in play once again for LeBron  when he has two shots blocked by Chris Boucher. Add insult to injury, the Clippers just beat the Raptors in Toronto's back-to-back stint against the LA teams. Alright Doc you know what to do. Manage Kawhi's load will ya? In all seriousness, this loss can be considered good for the Lakers to stay level-headed in this still way too early season.

Lakers Weekly Roundup (12/16): FINAL - LeBron 16 Wade 15; Ref-Ball

For years, many have come to believe in the conspiracy that the NBA is rigged. Reason #1 - the refs. From Joey Crawford to Tim Donaghy, they intentionally try to invade the spotlight of the NBA players. From phantom foul calls to unnecessary technical fouls/ejections, they even get more attention when they miss a few blatant calls. Sometimes, players use that to their advantage to intentionally draw contact on their defender, lowering the integrity of officiating even more. Truly, it's a "black eye" in the league. Even so, our love for the NBA does not change despite all suspicions. We are treated with so many star matchups over the years. Our "cardinal sin" is that we don't appreciate them until one of them decided to call it quits for a great career. Indeed, we take so much for granted what the NBA had in store for us over the years. Enough of the pros and cons, this is your Lakers Weekly Roundup!

12/10: vs. Miami 105-108 [W] (17-10)

HIGHLIGHTS

The Final LeBron vs. Wade matchup. It truly is the end of an era for the one of the most notable rivalry turned friendship turned rivalry again in the NBA. Barring any divine intervention that these two teams meet in this year's NBA Finals, this should be indeed the last matchup between the two. The two players are even in 30 total head-to-head matchups with both winning 15 wins. Only one will come out on top here for good. This was an antithesis of the last meeting against this Heat team in the Miami game. You know it was going to be a struggle for the Lakers when Lonzo Ball blows two wide open layups. It was like he's playing "Knockout" trying to get the ball in the hoop as he missed a jumpshot from the free throw line. Though D-Wade put up some vintage buckets, it was Justise Winslow stealing the show, putting up 28 points off the bench. This guy was a glorified non-scorer, but he's found the groove the last few games. Back and forth the two teams went. But the Lakers came out on top thanks to the heroics of King James and Lord Kuzma as the duo combined for 61 points. LeBron got the best of his "frenemy." A fitting end of an era as the era of the 2003 draft class draws nearer to a close. Wade will retire by season's end. Melo is left unsigned. Chris Bosh is in no condition to play anymore after two blood clot scares. And Darko Milicic is...well somewhere (the Pistons just had to ruin that talented order). Only LeBron will stand tall and fittingly as he's the flagship for that talented 2003 draft.

12/13: @ Houston 111-126 [L] (17-11)

HIGHLIGHTS

REFS HIGHLIGHTS

The rematch we've all been waiting for. The bad blood between the two teams has been brewing since the brawl in the home opener back in October. The only difference is, Brandon Ingram is out with a foot injury and Rajon Rondo had a setback following hand surgery. There will be no punches thrown here. The two teams exchanged baskets all game long. Though the Rockets had the lead the majority, the Lakers continued to fight and try to scratch and claw the best they can. That's until Floppity Flop Flop James Harden started taking advantage of the refs to draw unlimited fouls. The Bearded Man clearly has an endorsement with the refs. You can't even breathe on the man because he'll sucker himself into that modicum of air to draw contact and the refs will still end up calling a foul. If you're going to flop, at least make don't make it look obvious that you'll intentionally run into your man to get the call. Shit like that is why the NBA is a goddamn joke nowadays. To add insult to injury, Harden wraps up his School of Flopping by capping off a 50-point triple-double. We definitely needed Rondo and Ingram to throw hands for the Lakers this game. Hell, wish they brought back back Metta World Peace to check Harden and remind him of what legit contact feels like:

*In case anybody quickly forgot.*

12/15: @ Charlotte 128-100 [W] (18-11)

HIGHLIGHTS

Two days removed from the fuckery of the refs in Houston, the Lakers travel to Charlotte to visit the palace of "His Airness." The LakeShow had their extermination squads loaded to sweep out the Hornets. It was an old school, take-you-to-the-woodshed beatdown as the Lakers imposed their will on the hapless Hornets. We have ourselves two players with triple-doubles on the same team, a feat
that hasn't been accomplished in a long while. We are witnesses to the full power of "LeBronZo." King James, as he has done many times in the East, imposed his will on the Hornets, racking up 24 points, 12 rebounds, and 11 assists. While the first born of the "Triple B's" from Chino Hills racked up 16, points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists. He even shut down Kemba Walker and racked up 5 steals, intercepting passes like he was playing Defensive Back in football. The LakeShow put the hammer on the Hornets in the 2nd half leading as many as 30 points. A splendid bounceback effort indeed!

12/16: @ Washington 110-128 [W] (18-12)

HIGHLIGHTS

Talk about a fucking letdown. It looked like the Lakers took the quick flight to the Nation's capital and left their complete team effort behind in Charlotte. You know how the old saying goes: "what goes around, comes around." The Lakers looked flat this game in this upsetting beatdown courtesy of the Wizards. The King proved that he was mortal after all as he was blinded by the wizardry of the Wizards.  LeBron was held in check to just 13 points. John Wall exploded with a 40-point game and getting away with so much contact on Lonzo Ball on the break. Honestly, how in the blue hell did the refs miss that call? John Wall didn't block Lonzo. He lead with his hip and bumped the shit out of Lonzo. No call. Probably the refs have made it clear to the Lakers that it was time to pay back the debt for the 2002 Western Conference Finals. I swear if that was James Harden, they will call that a flagrant 2. The only big takeaway this game was that KCP went off with 25 points off the bench. Wasted effort as we all know that KCP is hot-and-cold in terms of scoring.

Lakers Weekly Roundup (11/18):- LeBron's Ascension on the All-Time Scoring List

*Some NSFW language*

This is why I liked being wrong about the fact that the Lakers getting LeBron would be a major mistake. Here ye, here ye! The King is here and exerting his throne in Purple and Gold royalty. Not to mention, the Lakers are riding high right now since acquiring Tyson Chandler from the Phoenix Suns. Though, they did take a hit with Rajon Rondo being out 4-5 weeks after having surgery on his hand, prompting the Lakers to call Wagner and Svi from the G-League. Nonetheless, This is your Lakers' weekly roundup.

11/14: vs. Portland [W] 126-117 (8-6)

HIGHLIGHTS

Oh, how the tables have turned on Portland since the Lakers snapped the 16 game jinx two weeks ago. Now, it's the Lakers turn to dominate Portland. LeBron obliges and proceeds to destroy the Blazers to the tune of a near triple-double of 44 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. It's too bad nobody could hit a shot to give him his 10th for a triple-double. In turn, he surpasses, NBA legend and Lakers alum, Wilt the Stilt, Wilt Chamberlain for number 5 on the All-Time scoring list with a three-point play late in the fourth quarter. It's going to be an interesting reaction when he surpasses the previous King of L.A. before him as he is now just a thousand points away from catching the "Mamba King."

11/17: @ Orlando [L] 117-130 (8-7)

HIGHLIGHTS

Not all streaks are created equal. It's hard to believe the Lakers' last win in Orlando was during the time the Magic's last superstar won his revenge game in his lone season as a Laker. Yes, The Lakers had he who shall not be mentioned who's battling all kinds of back injuries in his time in Washington when they last won in Orlando. For the Magic's next trick, they make the "Tyson Chandler effect" disappear. The Magic just destroyed the Lakers here as Nikola Vucevic dominated to the tune of 36 points and 13 rebounds. They did make it interesting though as Coach Steve Clifford elected to put his garbage time unit early in the game. Luke Walton emptied his bench too by putting Beasley and Myhailiuk on the floor. But, they made it interesting, cutting the 21-point deficit to a 10-point deficit. So, the Magic called a timeout, put their starters back in just for safe measure. While Luke just...What the Hell Luke? You could've put the starters back in! What is you doing?

11/18: @ Miami [W] 113-97 (9-7)

HIGHLIGHTS

LeBron once again took his talents to South Beach as the Lakers' fortunes continued to change in Miami. In turn, LeBron puts on a show to remind Heat fans of his greatness from 2010-2014: drop a 51-point performance in his return. The King dropped three ball after three ball. Dunk after dunk. Even Lance Stephenson, his former rival, challenged LeBron on the sidelines. "I bet you won't hit a three." Lance said. LeBron answered Lance's challenge just for old times sake and put a neat bow on this homecoming performance. It's too bad Dwyane Wade was not there, it would've made it more memorable. Hmmm...I wonder what's in store on Wednesday when the King comes back home to Cleveland? Will LeBron continue to personify his greatness? Will the City of Cleveland boo him or revere him when he's introduced? I mean honestly, why would they boo him when he carried that Cavs team to 4 straight finals and winning in 2016 in a monumental upset over the 73-9 Warriors? Tune in Wednesday on the next episode of "Lakers Ball Z!"

Lakers Edged Out By Heat in Defensive Battle

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Julius Randle lead the Lakers with 25 points and 12 rebounds, but came up unlucky in a potential game-sealing basket, leading to the 92-91 loss to the Heat. Brook Lopez added 18 points and Kyle Kuzma added 11 points to go with 8 rebounds. Travis Wear lead the 2nd unit in scoring with 11 points.

Final Score: vs. Miami 92-91 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180316/MIALAL#/recap

Next Game: @ Indiana (03/19)

Highlights: *Courtesy of House of Highlights*

Yes, this one hurts. This was a very physical, defensive battle from both teams. It came down to which team was gonna make the final defensive stand. You'd figured the more experience defensive would come out on top, which would be the Heat. What a damp on another big game from Randle. He had a chance to put the Lakers up by three, but the jump hook just rimmed out. That shot has been completely effective for Randle and you can't blame him for missing that shot, which lead to Goran Dragic's go-ahead shot. It was really unlucky as I mentioned. The biggest culprits in the game were the turnovers and the offensive rebounding from the Heat. Lakers committed 20 turnovers to 11 turnovers from Miami. They were careless. They were too passive. At the same time, you gotta give credit to the Heat defense. They made the adjustments to slow down the fast pace tempo of the Lakers after the Lakers destroyed them on their home floor a few weeks ago. The Lakers were forced to play at a half court game and Miami was able to take advantage with an aggressive, swarming defense. They outhustled the Lakers for 2nd chance opportunities. Every time the Lakers looked like they made good defensive stops, the Heat were one step ahead of them in crashing the glass for 2nd chance opportunities. Bam Adebayo looked like a mini Hassan Whiteside out there. He and Josh Richardson terrorized the Lakers in the offensive rebounding category. I.T. was ice cold off the bench. Ball continues to struggle. KCP is at a funk. The back court was just terrible this game scoring-wise. It's a tough way to transition to a very tough four-game road trip ahead.  Pacers, Pelicans, Grizzlies, Pistons, three of those teams are fighting for their playoff lives there.

Lakers Get Elusive Road Win in Miami

*Stats courtesy of NBA.com*

Julius Randle bullied his way to lead the Lakers with 25 points and 6 rebounds as the Lakers beat the Heat 131-113, ending a long losing streak down in South Beach.  Lonzo Ball returned to the starting lineup scoring 8 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists, and a team-high 6 steals. Brandon Ingram racked up 19 points to go with 5 boards and 5 dimes, KCP added 18 points, and Brook Lopez chipped in 10 points to round out the starters. I.T. showed flashes of last year's MVP-worthy season with 29 points off the bench including 6 threes and 6 assists and Kyle Kuzma added 16 points and 6 rebounds to round out the 2nd unit.

Final Score: @ Miami 131-113 [W]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20180301/LALMIA#/recap

Next Game: @ San Antonio (03/03)

Highlights: *Courtesy of Ximo Pierto*

2008. That year was the last time the Lakers won a road game in Miami. They finally end the South Beach jinx 10 years later. The Heat have always been a quality defensive team under Erik Spoelstra's watch. You know coming into this game they'd gameplan defensively to slow down the Lakers full court tempo. They could not stop them. It's impressive that this young Lakers team just hung 131 points on one of the more quality defensive teams in the NBA. It all started at the defensive end. The Lakers get stops, they are on the break. It didn't matter if Miami got back on defense, they were looking to attack. Randle and Ingram lead the way, pounding the rim at will. Lonzo Ball was big time in the steals category. Call him a bust all you want, but he's not there to pad his stats like a 2nd pick would. He does all the little things to give his team the win. Zo set the tone on the defensive end, providing some quality help defense to set up the fast breaks that the Lakers love to do on the open floor. The team got off to a fast start with a 20-7 lead. The Heat fought back with Dragic and Wade paving the way. I.T. comes in and he puts the game on ice for the Lakers. He was red hot from deep, especially down the stretch when he hit three 3-pointers to give the Lakers all kinds of cushion. They don't call him "the King in the Fourth" for nothing. He's proven that he can be lightning in a bottle, especially during crunch time. The Heat got gashed big time. It was great to see this young Lakers team use their speed, quickness, and unselfishness against one of the better defensive teams. With this win, the Lakers are now over their win total from last season. We're seeing game-by-game that there is a core to lean on and a future to build around. That's what will entice quality free agents to come instead of this franchise begging for those free agents to play for them. The Lakers are riding a 4-game win streak. That's their cutoff in terms of winning streaks so far this season. They'll look to go above that and keep the train rolling in San Antonio. Like last meeting, the Spurs will likely be short-handed again given the ankle injury to LaMarcus Aldridge and the uncertain return of Kawhi Leonard. But nonetheless, they're still a good team as long as a certain Coach Popovich is on the sideline. That's gonna be another good test for the Lakers and the team's continued improvement.

Spurs Thrash Heat Again to Clinch NBA Championship

Alright welcome in to the full recap of game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the San Antonio Spurs capture their 5th NBA title, routing the Miami Heat 87-104 to dethrone the now former-2x defending champs in 5 games.

Many thought this would be a great series again, full 7 game series, every game would go down to the wire, but man did the Spurs make sure they don't let a title slip away again. The Spurs dominated the Heat in every way possible all 4 games the Spurs won ended up being won in a rout and the Heat were able to come away with 1 victory in San Antonio with by a whopping 2 points. I thought this series would go 7 and San Antonio pulling out a nail biter, but they beat the Heat with ease these 3 games through team work, ball movement, and defense.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 31 points, 10 rebounds, 10-21 shooting. I am not going to bag on LeBron just because he lost his 3rd finals because out of the whole Miami Heat team, he has been the constant this finals. This finals for LeBron definitely remind us about his days in Cleveland where he was the only spark plug and trying to create offense for his team (not to mention they had an atrocious head coach in Mike Brown). Other than that, bottom line is LeBron came to play in these finals, while the rest of the Heat didn't.

The Negatives

The other two out of the Big 3. Dwyane Wade, 11 points, 4-12 shooting, Chris Bosh, 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6-14 shooting. Let's talk about D-Wade here for a bit. He's obviously showing some decline. Wade doesn't have the same explosiveness, the same jump in his legs as he once had. By the time the offseason starts, Miami's going to critically decide what to do with him, either make him stay and finish career in South Beach or release him, pave some way for the future. For Chris Bosh, if the Heat are considering keeping him, they need to give him cheap money because he's better off as a stretch 4. He couldn't hang with the Spurs inside the paint and that's been the Heat's biggest problem since the Big 3 era is the lack of a true rim protector.

The rest of the Miami Heat team. Yeah true Michael Beasley and Mario Chalmers gave some lift, although it was in garbage time. Let's face it, aside from the Big 3, the role players for the Heat were downright atrocious. Ray Allen is getting up there with age, Birdman is getting up there with age, they didn't play Shane Battier or Udonis Haslem that much until it was too little too late. I said in my preview, the loss of Mike Miller will hurt them because nobody provided the hustle, shooting, and scoring he had and it greatly showed here in these finals because the players couldn't carry the burden of being the X-factor of the Heat. 

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives

Kawhi Leonard, 22 points, 10 rebounds, 7-10 shooting. The 2014 Finals MVP. He's come a long way, having missed a critical free throw last year that could've given San Antonio the championship, slow start the first two games this year, but he has responded at the right time, putting up stellar numbers the last 3 games for the Spurs. Since Pop gave him a pep talk to be aggressive, Kawhi has averaged 23.7 points per game these last 3 games. He proved it's not about how you start, but how you finished, and he definitely finished strong. Leonard will get better from here, only 22 and has a huge amount of upside.

Ginobili and Mills. Manu Ginobili 19 points, 6-11 shooting, Patty Mills, 17 points, 6-10 shooting. Early on the Spurs weren't getting anything from their starters, but once they inserted their bench, it gave the team new life. Ginobili played a much better game this year, barely turned the ball over while being aggressive, he has a true competitive heart, whenever adversity falls on him, he'll rise to the challenge and Manu did just that. Patty Mills, once he's hot, he's hot and when he gets hot, the momentum skyrockets for the Spurs. He filled in the void Gary Neal left behind very well and he'll get better from here. Mills is the definition of heart and team player whether he's on the floor or on the bench. 

Tony Parker, 16 points, 7-18 shooting. What a slow start for Parker, missing his first 7 shots, but like Leonard's performance in these finals, Parker may have started slow, but he finished strong, hitting a couple key jump shots and floaters late in the 4th quarter. That goes to show the depth of the Spurs, Parker was missing shots, but the Spurs were up big and when he got it going, all was pretty much lost for the Heat.

The Negatives

Danny Green, 0 points, 0-5 shooting. I guess you can say the only Spur who under performed was Danny Green. He had an unbelievable finals performance last year. This year, he was nowhere to be found. Lucky enough the Spurs are that deep. I think the Heat's defense really gameplanned against him this year, but they slouch on the other players that could shoot.

Conclusion

For the Spurs, they did it. They saved the dying beauty of team basketball in a professional level. As a Laker fan, I respect their philosophy of team first over individuality and they were always a tough team to go up against in the playoffs whether in the first round, second round, or conference final. With Tim Duncan winning his 5th ring, the debate is open whether or not him or Kobe dominated the 2000s. Personally for me, they deserve equal honors of being dominant players of the 2000 era and no doubt they're 1st ballot Hall of Famers and top 10 players all-time. For the Heat, a lot of questions to be asked in the offseason with the most important question of all "is the Big 3 era over?" Now where does LeBron go now that he's had success with Miami? Credit to the Heat though, 4 finals trips, really a tough task to make the finals and win it all multiple times. Other than that, this concludes my coverage of the 2014 NBA Finals and the 2013-14 regular season. It was a frustrating start, but I finished strong and that's all that matters. Aside from the NBA draft, Lakers' offseason activity, and the Kobe-Shaq article, I am not going to post that much until late August, but I will be collaborating with my friend, Stillmattic again on his Bleach blog http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com/. Until then, I'll see you guys later, stay classy.


Congrats San Antonio Spurs 2014 NBA Champions!

2014 NBA FINALS: Miami Heat @ San Antonio Spurs Game 5 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: MIA 87 SA 104

Congrats to both teams for making it this far in the finals this season, but in the end there can only be one. The Miami Heat's quest for a 3-peat has ended, but the Spurs wanted it more, they wanted to prove that last year they were the better team and Tim Duncan, Gregg Popovich cement their legacy even more among the all-time great players and coaches. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: MIA 58 SA 77

Explosive, explosive quarter from San Antonio. A block by Splitter on Wade started everything and especially Patty Mills getting hot at the right place at the right time. Now the Spurs are one quarter away from capturing that elusive 5th title, unless the Heat have something else to say to try and go on an improbable run to prolong the finals.

Q2:

Score: MIA 40 SA 47

GINOBILI! The Spurs, in the midst of an awful start the 1st quarter stayed calm and poised and their effort showed here lead by Kawhi Leonard and Manu Ginobili in the 2nd quarter capturing a 7 point lead. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: MIA 29 SA 22

Slow start for the Spurs, but fast start for the Heat. Give the ball to LeBron and get out of his way and the results? LeBron already has 17 points in the quarter. Rest of the Heat players have to step up if they want to stay away from elimination. The Spurs offense, yikes, horrendous start for the starters, but once Pop put in the bench, they start generating some to go on a run, but currently Miami has the lead because of LeBron's hot start.

Game 5 Halftime Post

Score: MIA 40 SA 47

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs come back from a horrendous 1st quarter that saw the Heat capture a lead for the first time in the finals at the end of a quarter and now the Spurs answer back and hold onto a 7 point lead at the half.

The Positives

LeBron James, 20 points, 8 rebounds, 6-12 shooting. He's setting the tone alright, the King is setting the tone and he's the only Heat player in double-figures in the half. James is doing his part, he has been the most consistent in the finals for Miami, the only problem is, he's not finding help the last few games and that's why the Heat saw their fast start evaporated.

Kawhi Leonard 15 points, 6 rebounds, 5-7 shooting. If the Spurs win today, hands down Leonard deserves to be Finals MVP. It's really a tough decision on the Finals MVP because this Spurs team plays so well that the whole team needs one. But individual-wise, Leonard deserves it putting up great games the last 2 games and now he's helped the Spurs come back from a mini slump this game.

Manu Ginobili, 14 points, 5-7 shooting. GINOBILI! Let me shout it again GINOBILI! He's shown some vintage strides this game with a sweet coast-to-coast layup and a dunk. 

The Negatives

Tony Parker, 0 point, 0-7 shooting. Yikes Tony Parker. One could wonder how much the Spurs lead would stretch if Parker hit any of those shots. The Heat made the adjustments putting big bodies on him on defense, but from what I'm seeing, Parker is missing shots that he's usually making in these finals.

Heat role players. Like I said before, LeBron's doing all the work, the rest of the Heat have to step up. So far, no one has stepped up outside of LeBron. Ray Allen in the lineup, not doing anything, Lewis nothing, Wade, though 8 points, nothing, Bosh, nothing. They're riding the fact that LeBron will do the work to set the tone and get the team going, but they're not performing better even with LeBron's hot start this game. Someone has to step up.

Bottom Line

The Spurs need a better start at the beginning of the 2nd half if they want to end this. Do what they do best, suffocating defense and great ball movement and Kawhi's hot, give him the ball. For the Heat, who's going to be the X-factor outside LeBron to push the series back to Miami?


KEY: TEXT = San Antonio; TEXT = Miami

Spurs Breeze By Heat in Miami Again to Take Commanding 3-1 Lead

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the San Antonio Spurs deliver a sequel to their stunning game 3 performance in game 4 against a demoralized Miami Heat team that have not found their championship swagger not once, but twice on their home floor in the big stage.

Well first off, good to be back and healthy and getting this game 4 coverage on the blog without any setbacks. I wasn't feeling well the last two days hence why I didn't post game 3 (I still watched the game in bed though), but it is what it is. So the last few games, Miami bounced back in game 2 and with the series shifting to Miami, people must be thinking "uh-oh San Antonio's in trouble" because of how Miami has been perfect at home. But since, San Antonio took it to the champs in their home floor, twice now. That is shocking, but credit to the Spurs, they were not going to be intimidated and they were going to do what they do best and that's play Spurs basketball.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives

Kawhi Leonard, 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks. Kawhi Leonard has bounced back in a big way these last 2 games. After putting up whopping 9 points in the first two games, Coach Pop gave him a pep talk he needed and he told him to be more aggressive. Leonard took Pop's words to heart, putting up 29 points in game 3 and putting up a double-double this game. His activity has been relentless on both sides of the ball since the series shifted to Miami, now he has to put up the same performance at home as the series shifts back to San Antonio.

Tony Parker, 19 points, 8-15 shooting. Tony Parker was looking to be in attack mode all game long. It kinda surprised me that the Heat didn't go big on him early to disrupt his game, but as I said, he exploited that and ran around circles around the Heat didn't matter if it was Norris Cole or Mario Chalmers defending, Parker was hurting them pretty bad in this game and that hurt the defensive game plan adjustment of the Heat in this game.

Boris Diaw, 8 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists. He's been spectacular facilitating the ball for San Antonio the whole playoffs. Pop pushed the right button inserting in the starting lineup in game 3, then here in game 4 and the results should be pleasing for the Spurs' fans.

Patty Mills, 14 points, 5-8 shooting. If there's anybody that I like on this Spurs squad it's the Australian native Patty Mills. Regardless if he's on the bench or on the floor, he lifts the spirit of that Spurs team up either way and he shot lights out from the bench. His 3 pointers this game were back breaking when Miami looked like they were making a run.

The Negatives

None. Aside from the turnovers, I don't see any negatives at all from this Spurs team this game. The full 13 man rotation for the team scored at least some points and San Antonio never let up, which is really impressive and they've done that all season while at the same time respecting their opponents regardless if they're the best team or the worst team.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 28 points, 8 rebounds, 10-17 shooting. The lone bright spot for the Heat this game is none other than the 2x Finals MVP himself. Looked like he was playing with 2007 Cavaliers squad all over again, the way he carried the team this game. Aside from Bosh and Wade, LeBron put up fantastic double-digit point totals, while the rest of the team didn't even step up. The same guys that helped him power this team to 4 straight finals took an off night.

The Negatives

Dwyane Wade, 10 points, 3-13 shooting. Just a bizarre game for Wade overall. He was missing free throws, missing shots that the old D-Wade would've made. It was a shocker to see him struggle like that especially in a critical game where your team could be facing a 3-1 hole if you don't respond back. He didn't look right this game.

Team effort on both sides of the ball. The team effort for the Heat was just awful. Looking at this game, they didn't look aggressive. We grow accustomed to this Heat team being aggressive, playing suffocating defense, trying to beat you by playing lights out offensively, but credit to the Spurs, they have dominated the Heat in the last two games, especially this game on both the offensive end and the defensive end. If you're a Heat fan, where does Miami go from here? How do they get back to playing with that aggressive mentality that every game is like a game 7?

Conclusion

Overall, brilliant display of basketball by the Spurs on the road, especially at the point of adversity where they looked like they lost home court advantage blowing game 2, but they responded back in a big way to be on the verge of capturing their fifth NBA title. For the Heat how do they respond after two lackluster games at home? They could've been the ones up 3-1, but they have been deconstructed, demoralized, and dejected so far in this rematch of last year's finals. The Heat are just looking for answers now, while the Spurs, they're not happy yet. You could see in the sideline expressions of Parker and Duncan, especially with a big lead, they're not satisfied yet. Crucial game 5 on Sunday, the Spurs trying to end the depressing memory of last year, while the Heat are not thinking 3-peat, they just want to prolong this series. I'll see you guys for that game.

2014 NBA Finals: San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat Game 4 Q-by-Q Reaction

Q4:

Score: SA 107 MIA 86

Two straight routs against the Heat in Miami for the Spurs. They are now one win away from a fifth NBA championship after displaying another exhibition of team basketball. Miami has not lead all game since the opening shot by Bosh and that is shocking to hear. Stay tuned for the full recap.

Q3:

Score: SA 81 MIA 57

The Heat continue to find no answer to the Spurs and the boo birds keep growing in South Beach. Only lone spot is that LeBron's mini sparks provided Miami some lift, but other than that, everything is still going wrong for Miami while everything is still going right for San Antonio heading into the 4th.

Q2:

Score: SA 55 MIA 36

The Spurs have dominated last game and now again this game with two things so far: with ball movement and suffocating defense. The Heat looked lifeless out there till LeBron's 3 pointer in the final seconds, maybe that'll spark some momentum in the 2nd half, but the Spurs taking it to the 2x defending champs on their home floor yet again. Onto the halftime report.

Q1:

Score: SA 26 MIA 17

Spurs, like game 3, close out onto an impressive lead after 1. Since the series shifted to Miami, the Spurs have hit their offensive stride not as much here as credit to the Heat, they adjusted somewhat defensively so that the Spurs don't get off to a fast start, but the Heat missed some opportunities to narrow it down to a very close margin and that's why the Spurs have a 9 point lead.

Game 4 Halftime Post

Score: SA 55 MIA 36

Alright welcome in to the halftime post of game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals where the Spurs try to  repeat their dominating performance from last game, building a 19 point lead, yet another huge lead over the champs heading into the half.

The Positives

Tony Parker, 12 points, 6-10 shooting. TP is straight up in attack mode this game. Whatever happened to Miami putting bigger bodies on him? Parker's done a great job exploiting that observation and he's taking it to Mario Chalmers. Off topic, but Chalmers has not found the range nor found his game on D and Parker straight up is just taking him to school.

Chris Bosh 8 points, 3-6 shooting. The lone positive this game for the Heat as I can tell. Bosh has been on his offensive game for this finals so far aside from last game where he only took like 3 shots and he's not finding help from his other two musketeers.

Boris Diaw. He doesn't have to put up good scoring numbers, but just the way Diaw facilitates has been impressive. His no look pass to Tiago Splitter this game is definitely one of the highlights of the night.

Kawhi Leonard. 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks. Leonard had an epic bounce back game 3 offensively, here he's doing it all over the floor, harassing LeBron, getting after the ball and being aggressive. I like how he's responded after 2 disappointing outings early on in San Antonio. His putback dunk after the Patty Mills miss is also another highlight of the night.

The Negatives

Dwyane Wade, 4 points, 1-7. A lot of the Heat players I don't like, but I respect Wade and I think it's sad that he's missing shots that he could make. Wade missed a couple free throws, a couple of open shots in the first half, it seems that he hasn't found the lift in his legs. 

Heat defense. Where's the championship defense the Heat have put on the last 3 finals appearance? Heat fans in the crowd are booing them (typical bandwagoners *cough*) I see this Heat team demoralized right now not just on defense but trying to find their range on offense. What is going on with them?

Bottom Line

For the Spurs, continue to pound the ball, press on D, and take it to the champs just like game 3, for the Heat it's a disappointing display, but they never lose 2 straight games in the playoffs, they're on the verge, let's see how they respond.



KEY: TEXT = San Antonio; TEXT = Miami

LeBron Goes Beast Mode in 2nd Half as Heat Take Game 2

Tied 1-1

Alright welcome in to the full recap for game 2 of the 2014 NBA Finals once again between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs where the Heat refused to go down 2 games and capture their 13th straight playoff bounce back victory against the Spurs 98-96 behind a 2nd half clinic by LeBron James.

First off I have to address an apology yet again for another screw up and I take full responsibility. I thought today's game 2 would start the same time as game 1, which is at 6:00. So I had to run some errands a little bit until 6:30, meaning I would've missed half of the 1st quarter until I checked my phone on Yahoo Sports to see that the game was at halftime already so I rushed to get home and I checked the time that it started at 5:30 and I just shook my head a little. Yeah quite a slow start for my NBA Finals' coverage, that was my error, hence why there was no halftime post and it's just only Q3 and Q4 posted in the Q-by-Q reaction. Luckily, I didn't miss the whole game, I thought saw a great 2nd half where the Heat and Spurs exchanged blows and the Heat later delivered the knockout blow with Bosh finding Wade.

Miami Heat

The Positives

LeBron James, 35 points, 10 rebounds, 14-22 shooting. Even with the leg cramps in the 2nd half and the broken down A/C, I thought LeBron was very efficient in Game 1 with 25 points. This game right here showed why he is currently the NBA's best player. I said in my finals preview, that LeBron has no excuse to foil under pressure since he has 4 years of NBA Finals experience and he is 2/2 now in putting up big numbers early on in the finals. Last year the Spurs were daring him to shoot and he couldn't hit just one jump shot until games 6 & 7. This year, LeBron is taking it to the Spurs, especially this game, he was hitting his jump shots and answering time after time when the Spurs looked like they were making a run.

Chris Bosh, 18 points, 6-11 shooting. Bosh so far has played surprisingly good in the finals this year. He doesn't have to put up great numbers, he just has to be an efficient contributor and answer the call whenever and he hit a really big shot in the closing seconds in the 4th quarter to give Miami a two point lead and made the extra pass handing the ball to Dwyane Wade after the Spurs trapped him for an open layup to pretty much seal the deal. 

Rashard Lewis 14 points, 5-9 shooting. A better game from Rashard Lewis, he made some vintage shots that made him a deadly shooter at the 4 spot back in the day. I remember when he went off against the Lakers in game 2 in '09 and he didn't have a great 3 point shooting this game, but he made shots that were just back breaking for the Spurs as they were trying build the momentum to their side. 

The Negatives

Bench play. The Heat bench only scored 12 points compared to the Spurs' bench with 37 points. I'm glad Coach Spo is mixing up with some role players I mean James Jones and Udonis Haslem saw some action this game, but an inconsistent rotation is a factor for poor bench play. Ray Allen contributed decent, but not too much to bolster the poor bench play. As the series shifts to Miami, I'm expecting at least most of the bench players to light it up and be that X-factor aside from the trio of Wade, James, and Bosh.

San Antonio Spurs

The Positives 

Big 3. Tim Duncan 18 points, 15 rebounds, 7-14 shooting, Tony Parker 21 points, 7 assists, 8-15 shooting, Manu Ginobili, off the bench, 19 points, 7-15 shooting. The Spurs' big 3 have been spectacular the first two games. From what I heard from the 1st half, Duncan got off to a real great start and Miami's defense had no answer for him and every time they stop him, it's a foul. Like I said before, the key to effectively hurt Miami's defense is give Duncan the ball inside and they just couldn't stop him. Ginobili and Parker, they played great, Parker obviously with that huge shot to give the Spurs a brief 92-93 lead and Ginobili hitting a 3 that if the Spurs drew that up earlier, they could've saved time and play the foul game.

The Negatives

3rd Quarter free throws. Just a tough pill to swallow for the Spurs who were so good at the charity stripe during the regular season. Parker had a chance to give the Spurs some cushion when he drew the flagrant one foul on Chalmers, couldn't hit one and then Duncan, drew a foul, free throws, couldn't hit one and free throws especially when game 2 is an early critical game in the finals are huge and those misses came back to bite big time in the 4th.

Tiago Splitter, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 1-3 shooting. Huge regression for Splitter after having a great offensive outing in the 1st game, he just wasn't involved as much as he was last game.

Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. Danny Green 9 pts 3-5 shooting, Kawhi Leonard 9 points, 3-9 shooting, fouled out. The Spurs' X-factors didn't show up this game. The Heat's defense have checked Green very good in the first two games and he hasn't put up big numbers yet. Leonard, you talk about a major letdown from the future franchise player, just 9 points in his first two finals games. He wasn't afraid to take gambles and create his own shots last year. I don't know what's going on with Leonard and if you're a Spurs fan, you gotta be frustrated because your future franchise player when Duncan is gone is not playing up to par the last 2 games and what more when the series shifts to Miami?

Conclusion

The Heat haven't been down 2 games in a long time and they got just what they wanted to try and take a 3-1 lead as the series shifts to Miami. For the Spurs, it's a hurtful loss this game and it definitely blows their home court advantage, luckily the finals shifts back to a 2-2-1-1-1 format so Miami would not win on their home floor again, but the Spurs need to at least take 1 game on the home floor of the 2x defending champs. Once again I apologize for the mishap, but I was able to cover game 2 as much as I could for you guys today. I couldn't stay up for the re-run on ESPN nor watch the replay on NBA TV tomorrow because I have a summer class on that day. Hopefully you guys read my announcement regarding the halftime post and it will be effective starting game 3 on Tuesday. I'll see you guys later.