Marquee matchup could decide Finals
Heat’s Butler, Lakers’ Davis carrying teams
No one can know, not with any certainty. Know that this one thing is going to determine whether the Miami Heat extend this series or Lebron James and Anthony Davis head back to L. A. with another Lakers’ title when Game 5 concludes Friday night.
There are too many variables, too many things that could happen to put the outcome of the game on one thing. What we know is the Heat have next to no room for error. Down 3-1 they can’t lose again without crowning the Lakers champions.
But if you were a betting man, wouldn’t you place whatever wager you were considering on the Jimmy Butler vs. Anthony Davis matchup being that ultimate decider?
Miami’s lone win so far was a start-to-finish one man show with Butler the ringmaster in Game 3.
He scored 40 points, he set up his teammates ( 13 assists) and he rebounded the basketball just ( 11 boards) enough to tip the scales in Miami’s favour.
In Game 4 the Lakers wisely opted to put Anthony Davis on Butler and reaped the reward of a third win in the series as Davis shadowed Butler’s every move. The Miami standout was still solid finishing with 22 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but Davis basically cut Butler’s scoring in half and that was more than enough to give the Lakers the winning edge.
Having had that success it’s highly unlikely the Lakers go away from that formula. James had much more of the Butler defensive responsibilities in the first three games of the series, but Davis’s young legs, his ridiculous wingspan and height all seemed to give Butler more trouble than James did.
From Butler’s perspective, one is as tough as the other and quite frankly, he doesn’t care which way the Lakers go with their coverage decisions.
“Man, it’s basically one and the same,” he said when asked to contrast the two styles. “They’re both 7 feet or damn near 7 feet. They move their feet incredibly well, super athletic and are very smart on both ends of the floor.”
Ultimately it’s a team game and the better team wins, but we really can’t see it playing out any other way. Butler has to be superhuman again to extend this series.
THE GLOVE WEIGHS IN
Gary Payton is 13 years into retirement but it didn’t stop him from weighing in on the Heat culture and what it means.
Payton wrote a piece for the Players’ Tribune that summed up that culture that had even a snarly Miami coach Erik Spoelstra lighting up at the very mention of it.
Hard not to if you were in Spoelstra’s shoes, given what a perfect motivational tool the piece was from a Miami perspective.
“I was really moved by it, particularly coming from GP,” Spoelstra said visibly lighting up at the very mention of the article. “I had goose bumps. It was just the right timing, and what a pleasant surprise, to come from one of the former champions. He knows how difficult competing for a title is, regardless of how you get there, what the score is in the series. At this point, it’s the first team to four. That’s the only thing that matters.”
Payton was part of that 2006 Heat title team and spelled out rather emphatically exactly what The Heat Way was then and remains today.
LAKERS BREAK OUT MAMBA UNIS
When the Lakers wear their Black Mamba uniforms in tribute to the longtime Lakers star Kobe Bryant who passed away in a helicopter crash earlier this year, the team is 4- 0.
Initially, the plan was to wear them in Game 2 and then again in Game 7 but someone decided a Game 7 might be too long to wait and the team will now also wear them Friday night.
You may say it’s just a jersey, but the Lakers have too much respect for Bryant to look at it that way.
“We just think that for all the things that happened this season, with our team specifically and our organization, that to be able to close it out in the Black Mamba uniforms will just make it all worth it,” Davis said.
QUICK HITS
Miami point guard Goran Dragic remains doubtful for Game 5. The Heat leading scorer in the playoffs hasn’t played since Game 1 when he tore the plantar fascia in his left foot. ... Centre Bam Adebayo, who returned in Game 4, says he was initially hesitant trying not to get hit on his left shoulder that was still tender after two missed games, but he got over that as soon as Jae Crowder told him to stop thinking about it and just play. ... Funny response from L. A.’s Kyle Kuzma when asked what life in the bubble has taught him. “I don’t need to spend that much money,” Kuzma said. “I think that’s the lesson.”