Photo From ESPN
Well... This NBA season has come to an end. The LA Lakers have won their 17th championship. Lebron James won his fourth NBA championship along with his fourth Finals MVP. And, Anthony Davis has finally got his first ring. As a Miami Heat fan, I am super proud of how far they made it, how much strength and consistency they showed, but that game 6 in the NBA Finals was sure hard to watch. Being down 30+ points for a good amount of time left a lot of Heat Nation feeling helpless, I am not sure if it was just me but Miami did not bring the energy we are used to. They were one game away from being one game away. That mentality wasn't shown on the court, as a result, the team that seemed to have wanted it more walked away with a chip and the others walked away full of regrets. After forcing the Lakers to a game six, and being more competitive than most thought, I want to recap the final game and praise the accomplishments of the LA Lakers. The Lakers defeated the Heat 106-93 for the 2020 Championship title, that score was as good as it got for the Heat. The Heat were behind 64-36 at the half, not being able to close that gap as they continued to follow the Lakers by 27 as they entered the fourth quarter. Lebron James and Anthony Davis combined for 47 points and 27 rebounds, dominating just like were used to. They were the second Lakers duo to average 25 or more points per game during the finals, with Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal being the first Lakers to achieve that in 2002. James also acquired Most Valuable Player as he averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 8.5 assists per game in the NBA Finals. I swear age has got nothing on this guy. The next player to get even close to those stats is Jimmy Butler, as he had 26.2 points per game. Jimmy was a reliable scorer during the whole series, but in-game six he was not a factor in the scoring column. He finished with 12 points, not being enough to support his team during the final game. The Miami Heat put up a good fight against the Lakers mostly because of the depth they have around Jimmy Butler, in-game five Duncan Robinson filled that number two role as he finished with 26 points shooting 7 for 13 from the perimeter. Unfortunately the Heats supporting players were not enough throughout the six games. In-game 6, only 4 players had 10 or more points and Bam Adebayo was the only player on the roster with more than 12 points. Adebayo and Goran Dragic’s injuries were no help, the injuries caused the young guards like Robinson and Tyler Herro to pull up and play a much larger role. These two guards were very strong during these playoffs, but not consistently. Herro was averaging 14.7 points in the finals but finished with 19 points during the final two games. Adebayo took part in 4 out of the 6 final games, it was clear he did not have the strength or skill to outplay Anthony Davis in the paint during long stretches, being beat on all ends. The Heat are in a good place, they have a great foundation to grow off of and possibly more victories in the near future. The Lakers look like they have a great shot at more championships in the future, but can they pull off another year in a row? Who will be the Laker's biggest threat? Will the LA Clippers redeem themselves? Who do you think will go top ten in the 2020 NBA Draft? I already can't wait for the 2021 NBA season. It's been exactly three days since the season has ended, and i'm already finding myself missing it.
