Previewing the 2020 NBA Finals: the history, the stakes, the Xs-and-Os, and the factors that will decide the NBA's new champion: https://t.co/4RC1LrBwj1
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) September 30, 2020
After much springtime bloviating, there will be no asterisk on this NBA championship. If anything, it will be more badge of honor — a mark of perseverance through isolation, mental strain, and the internal discord of performing a job in the entertainment industry while issues of social and racial justice roiled outside the Orlando bubble.
We remember some champions more than others. This champion will stand out forever.
The bubble did not produce a fluke finalist. The Los Angeles Lakers ranked among the league’s three favorites all season. The Miami Heat did not, but they have been a different team in Orlando — new starting lineup, remade identity, more powerful two-way force. They faced a slightly tougher slate of playoff opponents than the Lakers, and outscored them by 4.5 points per 100 possessions — two points fatter than their regular-season margin.
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A Heat championship should not blow fans away. How can anyone doubt them now? But the Lakers have the two best players, and both of their core lineup types — big and “small” — have some pressure points against Miami. Depending on your conception of the 2014 Finals against the San Antonio Spurs, LeBron’s teams have not lost a series in which they have been favorites since the 2011 Finals. Lakers in 6.
Excellent article that covers all of the possible variations and adjustments both teams could possibly make.