Held Heat to 35 points in second half but couldn’t hit open shots to win game. Lakers went 1-13 from three in 4th quarter. 3-point shooting has become team’s Achilles heel.
NBA Bubble
5 Things: Lakers win game 1 against the Heat
That was a lot of fun although I really hate it when guys get injured in the playoffs, leaves a slightly bitter taste in the mouth. But it is what it is so we’ll have to hope Dragic, Butler and Bam are good to go tomorrow night while also expecting the Lakers to bring their A game. I would say we got a B/B+ game from the squad last night and, with the help of injuries to key players and some under-performing on the Heat’s part, brought the first NBA Finals win in a good long while home.
- Lakers have found their way, the way is defense, and they are putting in work to make it happen. There’s not much you can do when a team defense is as locked in as the Lakers are right now. It’s not like we’re doing anything new, we;re just executing the bedrock principles of Frank Vogel’s schemes with excellence, communicating well on the back line and doing a fantastic job of adjusting or switching schemes or coverage’s on the fly. It’s easier to make this look good when superstars buy in and even easier when those guys are AD and LBJ. Danny Green was also excellent on defense last night. This series will be won on this end, as all of our series have been won up to now.
- Welcome to the NBA Finals Anthony Davis! His NBA Finals debut in terms of points scored tied for 3rd in Laker Lore (He and Elgin both dropped 34, George Mikan and Shaq are ahead of them). He also blocked 3 shots, had 9 rebounds and 5 assists. AD is a riddle I don’t think Miami has an answer for. They can slot Bam on him but it won’t be enough and it’ll mean you’re playing Kelly Olynyk or another under-sized player is going to have to contain Dwight Howard. Speaking of Dwight, his return trip to the NBA Finals was highlighted by two awesome dishes to AD on drives to the hoop for easy buckets. The Heat basically have to hope for a bad game from Davis, they don’t have a player that can stop him and doubling opens up an evolving passing game.
- That other good player we have, what’s his name…oh yeah! LeBron James. The King missed another triple-double by one assist. You could tell he was fishing for it a bit at the end but then quickly shut that down by returning to a more aggressive posture and scoring at will. Miami, like the rest of the NBA, doesn’t have much of an answer for ‘Bron. Iggy is up for it but lacks the legs or conditioning to hang with him all game and after that it’s Crowder who is more of a foul risk and lacks the acumen and savvy AI brings. I expect to see Miami double LeBron and force other guys like AD to make plays, the problem being that they can and will. Also, Frank’s got an easy counter to that in subbing Rondo in for either KCP or Green. Then you have to account for off-ball LBJ and we’ve seen how that fares, thus far.
- Laker Bench did enough. Outside of Caruso and Morris the Laker bench didn’t bring a lot of offense. Miami, when healthy, has the better scoring bench with Tyler Herro, Iggy and the oft-overlooked Kendrick Nunn. If Dragic can’t go I actually expect to see Nunn return to the starting line up. The rookie was on the All NBA rookie team, finished second in Rookie of the Year voting (despite the late surge of Zion). Between Nunn and Herro the Heat have some decent options to replace G=Dragic. I would add at this moment that, before you go writing rookies off in the NBA Finals citing a lack of experience or what-have-you that you take a moment and recall one Earvin “Magic” Johnson who corralled an NBA Finals MVP of his own after a serious ankle injury forced Kareem to sit out against Philly while one Pat Riley sat in the broadcast booth that season calling color alongside Laker legend Chick Hearn. Lotta mystical mojo there. There’s a benefit to being young: you don’t know what you don’t know, coach just tells you to go ball and you’re loose. Not saying that’s what’s coming but cautioning against dissing NBA talent from the comfort of one’s chair.
- What to expect in game 2. I think we’ll see more of Kelly Olynyk matching up against Dwight and if Bam sits out a game (which I don’t expect but will likely end up being a game time call) we might even see Myers Leonard. While this shouldn’t strike fear into the heart of Laker Nation it does present a slightly different challenge. Kelly-O is a willing three point shooter and under-rated defender. Like everyone on the Heat he plays hard and has no quit in him. Myers and Kelly could bang with Howard and burn fouls on AD, making him work harder than he wants to. I expect Spo to gum up the works of the game. They can’t keep up with us so they need to slow the game down, muck it up, play more like Riles’ Knickerbockers back in the 90’s. Jimmy Butler would have to be killed vampire-style in order not to play, he’s playing. Goran Dragic is a whole other issue. If he’s got a torn plantar I don’t see how he can be effective. That means Miami will either start bigger (maybe have Iggy start) but I think they’ll call on Kendrick and turn him loose while keeping the rest of the playoff rotation that has worked as-is. There aren’t a ton of options. Mainly the Heat need to play more to type, they need to generate more free throws and be more aggressive driving to the rim. It was only one game and the Miami Heat can definitely play better than we saw last night. I still think there’s a series here, even if Dragic can’t go. But they need to play pretty perfect basketball and I don’t see them doing that for 4 of the next 6 games. They can make it competitive, I still don’t see them winning it all.
How LeBron Took Control of Boycott to Press NBA for More BLM Support!
It was quintessential LeBron James taking control of the chaotic boycott created by the Milwaukee Bucks’ players and threatening to take his ball and go home to pressure the NBA to do more to support racial justice.
To begin with, I find it impossible to believe LeBron James really wanted to cancel the playoffs despite how angry and disappointed he may have been with the lack of progress and support for the Black Live Matter movement. Remember LeBron’s first comment after the Milwaukee players announced their decision to boycott their game with Orlando was an Instagram post reminding everyone the playoffs were “BOYCOTTED NOT POSTPONED.”
No disrespect to his commitment to Black Lives Matter as we all know how hard LeBron has fought for justice, education, and opportunity for the black community but he’s also on a mission to win his fourth NBA championship. As Kevin Ding reported, LeBron’s mission has always been two-fold: “Play the game at a high level. Bring a championship back to L.A., hopefully. And continue to push the envelope on creating change for my people.”
These are not mutually exclusive goals. In fact, they’re synchronized goals that are best accomplished synergistically. The more successful LeBron is as a pro basketball player, the more power he has to lobby for social change. LeBron’s also smart enough to understand the source of his social power is his standing as one of the greatest players in league history and the NBA playoffs are his best platform and opportunity to wield that power.
The behind-the-scenes reporting is LeBron and players from other NBA teams were blindsided and infuriated by the decision of the Bucks’ players because they acted alone, without notice to, or in concert with other teams. LeBron’s informal vote to cancel the playoffs and decision to walk out of the meeting was to send a message to players who didn’t understand the stakes and pressure the NBA for more support in the fight against racial injustice.
The media reports about how the ensuing meetings and discussions were able to convince LeBron to change his stance and support continuing the playoffs are laughable and naïve and insult his social savvy and intelligence. More than any superstar in sports, LeBron understands how to use his platform as the face of the NBA to lobby for and force social change. LeBron was playing chess while the rest of the players were playing checkers.
The morning after LeBron walked out, the players had a meeting and came to a unanimous decision to move forward with the playoffs. That evening they discussed their decision on a group team call with the league owners. Per Taylor Rooks: “Lebron was the last player to speak on the call and delivered a strong, thoughtful message to the owners that the work has to continue, and the owners have to truly dedicate to advancing this cause.”
Why LeBron grabbed the mike at the end of that meeting was to remind the NBA the viability of the playoffs depends on his and the Lakers participation and the league needs to step up to the plate and do more for racial justice. From Taylor Rooks this morning: “The NBA and NBPA took major steps toward tangible change and social justice. That is the most important part of these two days. Progression and the advancement of equality.”
This morning, the NBA and NBPA announced three new measures designed to support social justice and racial equality: (1) A social justice coalition to promote access to voting, civic engagement, and meaningful police and criminal justice reform. (2) A commitment to work to convert NBA arenas and facilities into safe in-person voting locations. (3) An program with NBA partners to provide advertising spots during each game to promote voting.
It’s not a coincidence the new measures announced by the NBA align with goals of the Voting Rights Group LeBron James and other black athletes and entertainers created to protect and promote African-American voting rights. LeBron James, Chris Paul, and players pushing for social change know legitimate progress on racial justice, education, and opportunity issues is totally dependent on black Americans voting in the November election.
LeBron is now taking flack from Stephen A. Smith and some of the younger players for acting like he was a king and taking over the boycott to push his agenda but that’s what great leaders do when chaos offers opportunity.