data-mm-id=”_8yklj1oaf”>The Los Angeles Lakers will face off against the Miami Heat in the strangest NBA Finals in history. Similar to the Eastern Conference Finals, it will be a tale of two teams: one loaded with lottery-caliber talent in Los Angeles and one greater than the sum of its parts in Miami. Jimmy Butler will take on LeBron James. Bam Adebayo will face his biggest test to date against Anthony Davis. The biggest contrast between the two squads comes in the form of their preferred method of offense. The Heat love to shoot three-pointers. They averaged 35.4 attempts from deep per game during the regular season and made 37.9 percent of them, good for second in the league behind the Utah Jazz. The Lakers, meanwhile, are… not of the same mindset. They attempted only 31 per game in the regular season, placing them 23rd in the NBA, and made only 34.9 percent of those attempts. The Heat will struggle to take away what the Lakers do best, which is score inside the three-point arc. Adebayo is an excellent defender but is giving up a bit in size to Davis, and Butler is in the same boat as the likely primary defender on James. Los Angeles, on the other hand, is entirely capable of making Miami's life miserable from beyond the arc with their defensive IQ and length. The Lakers' lives will be much easier if they can do it. That ability will determine just how close this series is. During the regular season, the Lakers were good at preventing success from the three-point line, allowing only 34.9 percent shooting from deep. In the playoffs, though, it's been a slightly different story. Opposing squads have shot 36.2 percent from three over the first three rounds in the Orlando bubble against Los Angeles. That increase of success may be marginal, but it makes all the difference in the playoffs. The Lakers did play three very good three-point shooting teams over those first three rounds in Portland, Houston, and Denver, but letting the Heat hit 36 percent of their threes will not make for an easy road to success. For all the mistakes the Boston Celtics made in the ECF, Brad Stevens teams are traditionally excellent defending the three-point line, and that was proven correct again over the last six games. Miami only hit 32 percent of their threes in the series. They still won, obviously, but it required multiple double-digit comebacks and really only one comfortable win, the final Game 6 victory where the Celtics gave up in the last two minutes and their three-point percentage was buoyed by a throwback performance from Andre Iguodala. That's the blueprint to beating Miami– take away the three-pointer and force them to find point production via tough drives into the paint and long jumpers. Los Angeles could very well win easily even if they don't do that. Such is the power of having LeBron and AD as your one-two punch. The Heat can and will make life difficult for them, but will be unable to fall back on schemes like the 2-3 zone they used to shut down Boston. That'll put their lesser defenders, like Tyler Herro and Goran Dragic, front-and-center, especially with LeBron's propensity to ruthlessly hunt such players to create mismatches. But it will be on the Lakers' guards and wings to do the same to Miami. If the Heat find even moderate success from beyond the arc, they'll keep it close until the fourth quarter. And as we saw in the Boston series, the Heat know how to close. Whether they're down 10 or up 12, they will produce in crunchtime minutes. The key is to get far enough ahead that it doesn't play nearly as big of a factor. Having a big lead in the fourth– incredible basketball insight, I know. But the Lakers will win this series if they can lock it down from beyond the arc. It's a tall task, but doable. And an important one, as all the numbers suggest.
Related Posts
Best odds: 21/10
Bookmaker:
Italy, the reigning European champions, find themselves in an unusual position in Euro 2024 qualifying Group C as they aim to secure a spot in the next continental tournament. With just three points from two games, they are currently behind England (12 from four) and Ukraine (six from three) in the standings due to having played fewer matches than other teams in the group. North Macedonia are directly below with the same tally, having played one game more.
In their most recent international fixtures, Italy faced disappointment in the Nations League. Now, they must focus on their upcoming Euro 2024 qualifying match against North Macedonia. The match will take place in Skopje, and Italy will be eager to secure a victory and improve thei…
Jurgen Klopp is adamant he can offer no insight into how much money Liverpool need to spend following claims the Reds boss will have told the club £250million of investment is required.
Former Liverpool defender Carragher made those comments while working as part of Sky Sports punditry team for their EFL Cup last-16 defeat to Manchester City.
His words came after Liverpool s owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) put the club up for sale last month, with FSG saying it is also open to bringing in a strategic partner.
Liverpool resume the Premier League season against Aston Villa on December 26 following the World Cup break sitting 15 points behind leaders Arsenal and seven behind fourth-placed Tottenham.
The Gunners renaissance and Newcastle United s emergence …
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has hit out unacceptable fake news after reports claimed he has quit international football over comments made by France president Emmanuel Macron.
Macron described the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty in a north-western suburb of Paris this month as an Islamic terrorist attack .
Paty, 47, is said to have shown controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his pupils. The knife-wielding attacker was shot dead by police in the aftermath of the attack.
Reports suggested Pogba, a practising Muslim, took offence over Macron s comments and has decided to call time on representing the world champions.
However, Pogba posted a picture on Instagram of an article stating he had ‘quit playing for France’ and wrote una…
Millwall defender Danny McNamara has paid tribute to “classy and honest” John Berylson following the death of the club’s owner and chairman.
American businessman Berylson, who was appointed Millwall chairman in 2007, died in a car crash in the United States on Tuesday morning at the age of 70.
McNamara is among those who have been paying their respects, the home-grown full-back thanking Berylson for his successful stewardship during his long tenure at The Den which has seen Millwall become established in Sky Bet Championship.
The players pay tribute.
— Millwall FC (@MillwallFC)
McNamara’s message in a book of condolences for Berylson on Millwall’s website read: “Suited and booted with a cigar in his hand. A classy and honest down to…
Naby Keita is now on the verge of leaving Liverpool as a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the season, with an extension looking less likely by the day, according to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
Keita joined Liverpool in 2018 from RB Lepizig for a reported fee of €60 million. He was seen as a great boost for the Merseysiders midfield section after their hearts were broken by the Champions League final defeat that year, but he never quite lived up to the expectations, with injuries severely plaguing his time at Anfield.
The 27-year-old has been starting matches recently and has even been one of the better performers in a mostly underwhelming team, but with a great rebuilding job reportedly planned for the summer, it seems there will be n…
The wait is over. A week-and-a-half after joining Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi could be set to make his debut against Brest on Friday.
Following his shock exit from Barcelona as a free agent, Messi became the Ligue 1 giants fifth major signing of the transfer window, joining the superstars Mauricio Pochettino already had at his disposal.
Messi, alongside his former Barca star Neymar, has been training this week, and though Pochettino refused to confirm his squad during Thursday s news conference, it is expected the duo will play a part.
With Kylian Mbappe already back, here s how Pochettino could set out at Brest.
GK: Keylor Navas
Navas has been one of Europe s outstanding goalkeepers in recent seasons, ranking third for goals prevented (8.1…
Newcastle United are interested in signing Marc Cucurella from Premier League rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Newcastle are looking to bring in a new left-back this summer and that one of the players on their radar is Cucurella. The Magpies want a loan deal, but the Blues would prefer a permanent sale.
Cucurella has been on the books of Chelsea since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion. The 25-year-old did well for the Seagulls during the 2021-22 campaign, but he did not have the best of times at Chelsea last campaign.
The left-back made 21 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea last season, providing two assists in those games.…
England and the Republic of Ireland will meet competitively for the first time since 1991 in the next edition of the Nations League.
The English and the Republic are also up against Euro 2004 winners Greece and Finland in Group B2. They avoided a long trip to Kazakhstan under UEFA’s excessive travel restriction rules, with the former Soviet republic placed in Group B3 instead.
The last competitive encounter between England and the Republic was a Euro 92 qualifier at Wembley, where a Niall Quinn goal cancelled out Lee Dixon’s opener. A friendly match in 1995 at Lansdowne Road had to be abandoned due to crowd trouble, and the teams’ most recent meeting was a November 2020 friendly.
LEAGUE B
— UEFA EURO 2024 (@EURO2024)
Wales will be up ag…
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has announced he is coming back to Spain in what could be a hint over his next career move.
The 38-year-old s contract with LA Galaxy expires in December and he has previously talked up a possible return to Europe.
A move to Italy seemed most likely, with a host of Serie A clubs including Napoli believed to have showed an interest.
However, the former Barcelona striker posted a short clip on Instagram on Tuesday that may point to a future move to a LaLiga club.
I bring my ballz to the moon
— Zlatan Ibrahimović (@Ibra_official)
Hola Espana, guess what? I am coming back, he said.
Ibrahimovic, also touted as a target for South American teams Boca Juniors and Flamengo, spent one season in the Spanish top fligh…
Hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah saved the day for Liverpool after promoted Leeds gave the champions a huge scare in a 4-3 thriller on the opening day of the Premier League season.
The Reds striker struck a decisive 88th-minute penalty, his second spot-kick of the game at Anfield, to ensure last season s all-conquering side started the new campaign on a positive note.
In a battle between last season s Premier League and Championship winners, Salah s first two goals and one from Virgil van Dijk were countered by Leeds replies from Jack Harrison, Patrick Bamford and Mateusz Klich.
A sub-plot to this Merseyside showdown was the tactical battle between managers Jurgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa, and the latter looked like coming away with a point until Rodrigo fouled …