After the surprising loss in Game 5 the Lakers with ease and a suffocating defense put an end to the Miami Heat’s dream post season with a 106-93 win in Game 6.
Don’t let the final score mislead you—this game was a swift and decisive execution. The Heat were never in this game and in reality it was a standing eight count TKO win for the Lakers even before this game made it to the halftime intermission.
Jimmy Butler looked worn out and spent from his heroics in Game 5 which prolonged the series to a Game 6. But it wasn’t just Butler who struggled for the Heat. It was a team effort in that it would be tough to look at the Heat stat sheet and say any Miami player had an effective game on Sunday night inside the Bubble.
The Lakers came out from the opening tip with a sense of competitive ferocity which had been lacking since they won the first two games of these Finals by double digit margins and easily looked to be the superior team.
LebRon tripled doubled with 28, 14, and 10 on a night when he once again won the Finals MVP Trophy and the fourth ring in his illustrious career.
Anthony Davis was engaged from the get go and played like a man who was determined to win his first NBA ring.
Rajon Rondo was superb with 19 points coupled with his overall floor leadership.
Alex Caruso started in place of Dwight Howard as coach Frank Vogel went small from the opening tip. Anthony Davis played center and the Heat could never get Davis out of the lane in their offensive zone.
Add Kentavious Caldwell-Pope having a nice shooting night and that was all the help LeBron needed as the Lakers ended the longest season in the history of the NBA on October 11th, 2020.
I would think all parties involved are glad its over…especially NBA commish Adam Silver. To just finish this season amid all the challenges our nation faced this year in and of itself was quite an accomplishment.
The Miami Heat have nothing to be ashamed of in losing in six games. They surprised the basketball world by reaching the Finals and for the most part gave us a decent NBA Finals.
We never saw the much anticipated Lakers vs. Clippers matchup in the Western Conference Finals, but what we did see were some good young teams in Miami, Denver, Boston, and Dallas who should all be fairly formidable next season. Plus—the Clippers and the Milwaukee Bucks who were both massive underacheivers in the Bubble.Golden State with the Splash Brothers, Draymond Green, and a lottery pick should be interesting.
At thirty-six years of age LeBron is still atop the mountain as the best player in the NBA. I would think the Lakers are primed to make another serious run at a title next season as long as LeBron James has the passion for the game he displayed this season.
As far as the Oklahoma City Thunder…I don’t think anyone yet knows exactly what Sam Presti is doing until it becomes more clear what the financial template will be for small market teams as they adjust to smaller revenue bases heading into next season until there is a vaccine which allows arenas back at full capacity.
Adam Silver will have many challenges next season reshaping the economic order of the NBA. But so will every other sports entity both college and professional.