2020 NBA Finals: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat

Miami only played 7 players last night. Cf’s says Expand the rotation!!!

 

oh shiiiii i just realized the finals is still on??!

lelz i thought it was done last week ago.

 

As great as the Lakers and Heat both are, I feel like Warriors fully healthy and without locker room cancer KD are going to cruise to another three peat.

 

Oh really?

 

Both Jordan and Kobe are 25+ feet away from the basket at the 3 point line. The defense respected their ability so much they doubled them at the 3 point line. That far away from the basket the right play is to pass the ball.

Lebron was 1 on 1 at the top of the court and I am sure like he schemed for a screen to come over. He was 15 for 21 from the game, 6 of 9 from 3, he had it going, he should've take the jumper if he was facing a 1 on 1 and he was...he should've waved off the screen and pulled up. He drove instead where defenders were waiting

 

I already agreed. He's having a phenomenal shooting efficiency series.

But there is no getting around it. *Grit* is part of how he's playing 45.3 mpg over last 4 games, which has a significant affect on his per game numbers. And even Game 1 blowout, where he sat for the 4th Q, he was headed for a 43 minute game.

He's en fuego. And Dragic out is a large part of his Ast numbers going up.

But that efficiency IS the ppg difference on 36 minute basis from 1st 3 rounds to Finals. And full ppg difference looks staggering. But that's because he played 45 mpg over last 4 games.

 

MJ was never anywhere close to 25' out when he made his memborable passes.

Kobe to Artest had 1 minute left, Lakers up by 3. That's not even a last possession shot, much less a shot from behind or tied. That's just a typical trap of Kobe to prevent the drive. Down 3, you don't really want Kobe driving.

 

Look again, Jordan is at the 3 point line when he is doubled




More often than not Kobe pulled up from the perimeter, not drove during big moments late in the game. He was confident in his jumper if he had room on the court facing a 1 on 1

 

keep in mind he's inside the current NBA 3pt line at the point of being soft trapped to shade him left. That arc is 22'. At the point he passes, he's about 18-19' away.

superstar drivers get soft-trapped like that a lot in last possession. Harden gets hard trapped truly 25-35' out.

 

I don't think this logic is right. Your best player needs to make the best decision in order to win the game. That best decision isn't always taking the final shot. Danny Green had an uncontested 3 from the top of the key while LeBron had a helping Jimmy Butler ready to swat away an attempt at the rim.

LeBron had it going all night, sure, but passing it to a wide open player whose main role on offense is to catch-and-shoot 3s, was 100% the right decision.

Honestly, if LeBron took the shot, it would have been a very selfish shot. If LeBron only had Duncan Robinson on him and the same sequence occurred, then you can say LeBron was scared to take the final shot. But that was 100% the right decision.

 

Both Jordan and Kobe passed the ball to an open teammate who made a shot. LeBron did the same and his teammate just missed. Either you have an issue with a star giving a capable teammate a wide open shot to win the Finals or you don't.

 

just to add another level to this butler performance. he apparently has the highest finals game score ever at this point (started in '83-'84). 2 shaq performances, 2 lebron performances, 2 jordan performances, a KD performance all in the top 8 (not in that order). all behind jimmy butler. this isn't good for jimmy butler. this isn't good for anyone ever. this is better than anyone ever.

 

I think we all know that the "correct" bb play is to pass to the open shooter, more often than not, it will turn into easy points.
We know that lebron usually does that play, because he is wired that way.
I think the fair criticism is, that he is almost unstoppable himself, and with the game on the line, instead of handling the pressure to the danny greens, delonte wests of the world, he should absorb that and find a way to get a decent shot. That way, if he hits, he is the hero, and if he misses, you know the best guy on the court took the shot.
On a night where he was getting every shot he wanted and was incredible effective, the fact that he passed to Danny green on the defining play, to me , is the wrong bb play.
I'm rooting for the heat on this one, and in the last 2 minutes, i was begging at the tv, for the heat to double lebron and take the ball out of his hands. He was unstoppable.
All that being said, what do i know? I'm just a random guy behind a screen, criticizing the decision maker of one of the best players of all time

 

In the 2011 draft, the Heat took Norris Cole 2 spots ahead of Jimmy Butler.

As far as coaches go, Butler has had Thibodeau, Hoiberg, Thibodeau (again), Brett Brown and now Spoelstra.

Imagine if Butler was 'raised' by the LeBron/Wade/Bosh/Spoelstra team that won titles, instead of being run into the ground by Thibs, having a clueless coach who lost the locker room in Hoiberg and someone who couldn't get anything done, despite young superstars in Brett Brown.

I wonder how 'good' Butler could have been, with the right tutelage from the very beginning.

 

I feel like if LeBron misses, it won't be the case of "alright, let's move on from this topic because the best guy took the last shot." It would be "LOL LeBron was selfish and took it himself instead of passing to a WIDE OPEN TEAMMATE LOLOL WHAT A GLORY SEEKER LOSER 3-6 LOLOL"

LeBron would be crucified.

 

of course he will. But thats the other side of the coin for this guys. If he hits, he is amazing, clutch, the hero, unstopable, etc. If he misses he is a ballhog, forcing stuff, gloryseeker, selfish, tunnelvision, etc.
But thats usually the difference between good players and the all time greats. and he is an all time great.

 

So was Jordan wrong for handling that pressure to Kerr, or Kobe for handling it to Artest?

 

Don't know if this has been posted but this is clearly intentional... Sad thing is AD so soft, Crowder didn't even bat an eye..lol

 

How many times did that happened? Once or twice. Jordan and kobe will shoot most Of the times, they where killers ( jordan waaay more than kobe), while LeBron will pass most of the times, not because he is afraid, but because he can find the open man always, and he is wired that way.
Again, I'm not saying that's the wrong call, it's the big difference between him and MJ. Lebron is a playmaker and i think he cant help himself go for the highest % play. If you see the play, LeBron doesn't even try to isolate, which i though was a bit strange, as he was shooting like 80% from the field. He calls for a screen from Duncan Robinson man ( same as all game) and then attacked, except this time, there where 3 guys in the paint and he had to pass.