Los Angeles built its roster for this moment. Miami—well, it was not expecting to be here this fast. Regardless, the Lakers and the Heat will wrap up a wild NBA season when they meet in the Finals beginning on Wednesday.
Heat hope to stay hot
Miami has made it to the Finals for the first time since the LeBron James era, where he led them to four consecutive appearances. The Heat have been spectacular in the playoffs, only dropping three games. They swept Indiana in the first round and followed it up with a dismantling of top-seeded Milwaukee. Their Eastern Conference Finals series was easily the most competitive, but the Heat still pulled the upset in just six games. They have outscored opponents by 4.5 points per 100 possessions in the playoffs, even after facing two of the top 10 teams in offense and defense.
Guard Jimmy Butler leads the balanced Miami team. He was the leading scorer during the regular season, but did not lead the Heat in scoring in any of the six games against Boston. Point guard Goran Dragic is the postseason scoring leader, posting 20.9 points per game. He is also dishing out 4.7 assists per game. Butler is scoring 20.7 per contest and is pulling down 5.7 boards. Power forward Bam Adebayo is averaging a double-double in the playoffs, scoring 18.5 points and grabbing 11.4 rebounds. Rookie guard Tyler Herro is adding 16.5 points per game, including a 37-point showing against Boston in Game 4 of that series. Duncan Robinson and Jae Crowder are both streaky shooters from beyond the arc.
James, Lakers seeking title
Los Angeles is reaping the rewards of clearing enough cap space to sign LeBron James in free agency two years ago. James, along with Anthony Davis have led the Lakers through what has been an easy playoff run thus far. They got past Portland in the first round and then took out Houston in the second round. Denver was no challenge for the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals, as they won in five games. The Nuggets took out the Clippers in the previous round, eliminating what many thought to be a sure-thing series between the two teams from Los Angeles.
Davis leads Los Angeles with 28.8 points per game in the playoffs, grabbing 9.3 rebounds as well. James is completing the star duo with 26.7 points and is averaging a double-double with 10.3 rebounds per game. The Lakers are outscoring opponents by 15 points per 100 possessions with both players on the court. Power forward Kyle Kuzma is the only other player scoring in double figures, notching 10.5 points per contest. Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is contributing 9.9 points and veteran Rajon Rondo is scoring 9.1 points. Center Dwight Howard has played some key minutes, scoring 7.3 points and grabbing 5.5 rebounds. Los Angeles won both regular-season meetings between the two teams, but they occurred in November and December.
Notable Trends
Los Angeles is:
- 3-8 ATS in its last 11 games vs. an Eastern Conference opponent
Miami is:
- 12-3 ATS in its last 15 games
- 7-1 ATS in its last eight games as the road team
