What you need to know about NBA Finals

Lakers and Heat open series on Wednesday

The NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat will open Wednesday.

The short two-day break between the conference finals and Finals reflects the NBA’s accelerated schedule inside its bubble, the restricted campus the league created at Disney World to more safely hold games during the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic. Since the NBA restarted play in July, there have been no positive coronavirus cases inside the bubble.

WHAT IS NEW ABOUT THE FORMAT?

The NBA typically employs a 2-2-1-1-1 best-of-seven Finals format, granting the team with the better regular season record the advantage of playing the first two games at home, as well as games 5 and 7. This year, all seven games will be played at a neutral side: the AdventHealth Arena near Orlando.

During a usual season, the Finals open on a Thursday and cover up to 17 days, with plenty of off days included to allow for cross-country travel. This year, the Finals will open on a Wednesday and cover up to 14 days. The final day of the NBA bubble will be no later than Oct. 13.

WHERE WILL GAMES BE PLAYED?

The AdventHealth Arena sits on ESPN’s Wide World of Sports Complex near Disney World. The multipurpose arena had a capacity of 8,000 fans pre-pandemic, but it has been retrofitted for NBA bubble games. With the help of massive video boards, new camera angles and high-tech microphones, the league has turned its court into a madefor-television stage.

WILL THERE BE FANS?

As with every NBA bubble game that’s been held since July, no tickets to the NBA Finals will be made available to the general public. Besides the players, coaches and referees, only a few hundred people attend each game. That group includes the scoring table staff, ballboys, arena staffers, cleaning crews, medical staffers and a small group of media members. Family members of players and coaches have also joined the bubble.

WHAT ELSE WILL LOOK DIFFERENT?

The NBA has sought to give teams some element of home-court advantage by customizing the public address announcer, sound effects and music at the AdventHealth Arena to favour the designated home team. For example, when the Lakers host Game 1 of the Finals on Wednesday, the sounds and musical selections will mimic what they are used to at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Additionally, the video boards behind the team’s benches mostly will be filled with real-time video of virtual Lakers fans watching from home.

HOW DID LAKERS AND HEAT REACH THE FINALS?

The Lakers entered the playoffs as the Western Conference’s top seed with a 5219 record. They then posted a 12-3 run in the playoffs by winning each of their three playoff series in five games, knocking out the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and Denver Nuggets in quick succession.

The Heat finished the regular season as the Eastern Conference’s No. 5 seed with a record of 44-29. They then compiled a 12-3 record in the playoffs by sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round, upsetting the East’s top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks in five games in the second round and outlasting the Boston Celtics in six games in the conference finals.

WHO ARE THE KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH?

The Lakers’ success has been driven by the all-star duo of James and Anthony Davis, and an excellent defence. Both James and Davis were selected to the all-NBA first team this season, and they have dominated opponents with their versatility and chemistry throughout their stay in the bubble. Los Angeles’s X-factor is its three-point shooting: guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Danny Green will need to contribute from outside to offset Miami’s perimeter attack.

The Heat uses a balanced offensive approach and pride themselves on hard-working play. Thanks to scrappy allstars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, they match up fairly well with James and Davis. Miami’s X-factor will continue to be Tyler Herro, who provided key scoring off the bench against Boston

WHAT IS THE FINALS' TOP STORYLINE?

This series will revolve around LeBron James. The 35-year-old forward is seeking his fourth career title and is trying to lead his third different team to a championship. James will be leading the Lakers, whom he joined in 2018, against his former team.