Coming in with favorites like Lebron James and Anthony Davis, two of the best players in the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers have displayed nothing but dominance in these unorthodox playoffs. Due to injuries to two of the Miami Heat starters in Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, the Lakers walked over the Heat with 116-98 and 124-114 victories.
Lebron James started off the series strong with a triple-double and Anthony Davis with 34 points in Game 1. The duo nearly repeated their impressive performances in Game 2 as James and Davis both scored for a total of 65 points of the Lakers’ 124.
However, Jimmy Butler’s 40 point triple-double for the Heat in Game 3, combined with the Lakers’ 20 turnovers and Anthony Davis’ meager 16-point performance, gave the Heat a needed Game 3 victory.
Game 4 started off in a similar fashion to Game 3. The Lakers started with seven turnovers in the first quarter, and Jimmy Butler made his first five field goals to score 11 points of the Heat’s 22 first-quarter points. Davis also started off slow with four points off four shots in 12 minutes.
The first half was a defensive slug-fest. A total of 15 turnovers and sloppy play led to both teams failing to reach 50 points before halftime. Despite solid ball movement from the Lakers in the latter half of the second quarter, open shots went off the rim and their nine turnovers only added to their lack of offense. The Heat faced similar offensive woes. Despite having sharpshooters in Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder, they only went 4-15 from behind the arc to score 47 points.
The second half was no different. Both teams continued to shoot with mediocre precision as turnovers piled into double-digits for both squads. However, the one difference was how the Lakers defended Jimmy Butler. Unlike in Game 3, Butler only had 22 points to finish up Game 4. His teammates did not fare much better—by the end, the Heat were shooting 34 percent from the three-point line, going 11-32. That, along with a solid defensive effort from the Lakers with Anthony Davis’ four blocks and a complete shutout of Tyler Herro’s ability to shoot the three, led to a Lakers’ advantage down the home stretch and a Game 4 victory.
Adebayo’s return to the court showed a solid performance with 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists. However, the Heat’s lack of depth at the guard position with Goran Dragic out with a torn plantar fascia made a visible difference in Tuesday’s offensive performance. Much of the playing time was put onto the 20-year-old Herro and rookie Kendrick Nunn.
With an extra day of rest between the end of Game 4 and Game 5, the Heat face a daunting 3-1 deficit. This is not to say it will be impossible to overcome. The Denver Nuggets displayed that in this very playoffs, overcoming two 3-1 deficits against the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers and becoming the first team in NBA history to do so. In 2016, Lebron James made the Cleveland Cavaliers the first NBA team to come back 3-1 down in the Finals against the Golden State Warriors.
With that being said, Dragic’s unlikely return to the court for the rest of the series and the Lakers’ being one win away from the title has made fans and pundits alike quote Jimmy Butler: “They’re in trouble.”
