So much for the legendary Celtics vs Lakers NBA Finals.
Tonight, the Miami Heat won Game 6 to complete their quest to the NBA Finals.
The game was close, right up till the 4th quarter which the Miami Heat won by 10 points
to grab their spot in the Finals.
Boston even had a 6 point lead in the 4th, but couldn’t capitalize on it and was eliminated.
The Lakers finished off the Nuggets in 5 games and they get that extra day off.
Now, there are just 2 teams left, it’s the NBA Finals and in the closest weeks we will
find out the 2020 NBA Champion.
Hey guys, Purple Prince here and this is my NBA Finals preview and prediction.
So first, let’s look at how each team got to this point.
The Lakers finished their regular season as the 1st seed and in the first round, they
had to go against the red hot Portland Trail Blazers who were the darling of the NBA Bubble.
Most of the people and the media knew that the Lakers were the better team, but Portland’s
strong play and ability to shoot you out of the building from the distance created some
believers.
That small group of believers got even more power when the Trail Blazers managed to win
Game 1 going up in the series.
The guarantee of a Portland sweep from Charles Barkley and some other optimists were
now feeling quite good about their Portland prediction.
Everything did go the right way pretty soon though.
The Lakers won the next 4 games and did a so-called gentlemen sweep of the Portland
Trail Blazers to advance to Round 2.
Houston Rockets were the next opponent they had to face.
Once again, a high-pace 3-point shooting team that’s supposed to bring a lot of problems
for the Lakers team.
And in Game 1, it seemed that way.
Lakers lost Game 1 once again, and that same group who believed the Lakers will be eliminated
by Portland was now convinced that Houston will do the job.
So much for that.
The Lakers won the next 4 games once again and eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs.
Everything was set for the Los Angeles Finals.
That is until a certain Nugget team made history by becoming the first team to come back from
two, consecutive 3-1 deficits in the playoffs to win their series against the LA Clippers.
So instead of LA Conference Finals, it was now the Lakers vs the Nuggets.
This time, the majority did think the Lakers would go to the Finals.
I, myself, predicted it would happen in 6 games.
Instead, the Lakers closed out the Nuggets in 5.
Great job by the Nuggets throughout the playoffs, but this is the Lakers year.
The Lakers made their first NBA Finals since 2010 if I’m not mistaken.
In the East, the Miami Heat finished their regular season as the 5th seed and in the
first round, they had to go against a tough Pacers team.
As tough as it could have been, the Miami Heat made quick work out of the Pacers.
4 - 0
and on the schedule - a meeting with the best team from the regular season - the Milwaukee
Bucks.
Most of the people thought that Heat’s run would stop in this round, but not me.
I predicted that the Heat would win, and they did.
Not in 7 games, but in 5.
It was too easy.
Giannis even got injured in Game 4, but the Bucks somehow managed to beat the Heat.
Game 5, no more teeth from the Bucks, and Miami went on to the Conference Finals.
Boston Celtics.
The Green Machine was a team they had to beat next.
And I really thought that the Celtics were gonna make the NBA Finals.
I predicted that the Celtics would beat the Heat in 7 games.
Instead, Miami showed that they are the better team.
a 6 game series win and here we are, in the NBA Finals, where Miami hasn’t been since
Lebron days, and funny enough, to get their hands on another NBA Championship, they have
to go through Lebron himself.
During the regular season, the Lakers and Miami played 2 times and both games were won
by the Lakers.
Throughout the whole 2020 postseason run, the Lakers have had two TOP-10 scorers - Anthony
Davis and Lebron James.
Davis the best scorer on the Lakers averaging 28.8 points while Lebron is a close second
averaging 26.7 points per game.
Surprisingly in a way, but Lebron is the team’s best rebounder with 10.3 boards per game and
the best thief with 1.3 steals.
In total, 3 Lakers are averaging double-digit points for the whole playoff run.
KCP comes in close with 9.9.
The Lakers are relying heavily on their superstars to carry the load, and so far, it has worked.
As a team, in the postseason the Lakers have averaged 113.9 points on 49.8% shooting from
the field and 35.5% from the three.
Defensively, they have held their opponents to 106.5 points per game on 45% shooting from
the field and 36.2% from the three.
The Miami Heat on the other hand gets their success from team play, which is quite notable
even by their statistics.
The Best scorer on the Heat is Goran Dragic averaging 20.9 points per game.
Jimmy Butler is a very close second averaging 20.7, but in total, six players on the Heat
squad are averaging double-digit points.
Not surprisingly, Bam Adebayo is their best rebounder averaging 11.4 boards and Jimmy
Butler is their best thief averaging 1.8 steals.
The Miami Heat as a team, have averaged 112.2 points per game on 45.8% shooting from the
field and 35.7% from the deep.
Defensively, they’ve held their opponents to a little more than 107 points per game
and 45% from the field and 34% from the three.
So, now that we know all the stats, what should we expect from this series.
First of all, it will be very interesting to see Lebron vs Heat, just because there
is some history there.
Pat Riley vs Lebron.
They have had some differences in the past.
Spoelstra coaching against Lebron.
Does he know something that could stop Lebron from being himself in the Finals?
He’s seen him, he’s coached him, that could be a big advantage for the Heat.
I think this is even a more interesting matchup than the Celtics.
Just because of all the storylines surrounding this.
As far as the player matchups go, this will be the first series in the playoffs for the
Lakers where they don’t have a big advantage in the paint.
Bam Adebayo is an all-star center himself and while the Nuggets also featured an All-Star
center, Bam is a better defender.
Still, I would take Anthony Davis over Bam and he will have to be big against the Heat.
Maybe get Bam into early foul trouble so they have an easier time getting into the paint.
The coaching advantage has to go to the Heat.
Frank Vogel has done an excellent job this season, but Spoelstra is an excellent coach
himself and he just has more experience coaching big games.
A very big key to this series will be the bench.
Miami has a better bench, they’re a deeper team there’s no doubt about that.
I’ll even say that they have a great bench.
The Lakers on the other hand can’t really fully rely on anyone except for AD and LBJ.
Danny Green has looked better of late and KCP has been more consistent.
Playoff Rondo so far has been great, will we get the same Rondo in the Finals as well.
I really hope so.
Dwight Howard did an excellent job against the Nuggets bigs.
He will need to be like that in the Finals as well.
Rebounding battle.
The Lakers have the better bigs, more accomplished bigs, and how many offensive rebounds you
can get will be a very important factor in this series.
Anthony Davis will have to step up.
He’s had 3 consecutive first halves without rebounds.
That just won’t cut it against the Heat.
I’ll throw this one out as well.
Dion Waiters will be facing his former team.
Will he get more minutes in the Finals, just to show that he is a good player?
Sort of a sideline story, but it would be cool if he could be a key player for the Lakers
in defeating the Heat.
The three-point shooting, Heat, at least on paper has a big advantage in this.
They have some deadly snipers from the distance.
The Lakers do have some shooters, but nobody has been consistent enough to really say that
it will be a close battle in this category.
So if you’re the Lakers and you can’t count on hitting your own three-pointers,
you better be good in defending them.
That would be my bet, as the Lakers have amped up their defense on their way to the NBA Finals.
One other thing to monitor is second halves.
In both losses to the Lakers this season, it was the 3rd quarter where Miami Heat lost
the most.
And yes, tonight they had a great run in the 4th, but mostly, it’s the first half where
Miami gains some ground and then hold on to the lead.
The Lakers have had some great second halves and it’s usually first halves when they
come out a bit sleepy and let their opponents build a big lead.
They can climb back, but it will be easier if they start hot from the get-go.
Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, Goran Dragic, Tyler Herro.
The Heat have some very good players who will need to step up to win this.
Butler has been a great leader for this young Heat team, and he will continue to be like
that in the Finals.
Just this time, I think it’s not meant to be.
So, overall.
the star power goes to the Lakers, the award of the better team goes to the Heat and it
remains to be seen who of these two will excel.
For me, I’ve mentioned this before, but I just think this is a Lakers year.
AD will dominate, Lebron will dominate, and their role players I hope can provide enough
to support them.
My prediction that the Lakers will win this in 5.
They’ve won each of their series in 5 and this one should be like that as well.
It sounds like I’m not giving any credit to the Heat, but this is just destiny.
With the Kobe tragedy and all the emotion over the franchise this season, it has to
be the Lakers’ resurrection.
My detailed prediction is that the Lakers will go up 2-0, Miami will win Game 3, and
then the Lakers will win the next 2 games to win the NBA Championship.
This is meant to be a beautiful story.
Miami Heat winning would be awesome and a very cool story as well, but man, would I
be disappointed if the Lakers don’t get it done.
Something has to be right in 2020, and this feels right.
For Kobe.
This is all for Kobe.
He deserves this.
The Lakers as an organization deserve to be on the top again.
And they will.
Thanks for watching the video guys.
What do you think happens in this series?
Who will be the best player?
Who will step up?
Who will disappoint?
Please leave your prediction and detailed comment about what you’re expecting in this
series in the comment section.
Don’t forget to like, share and subscribe.
Thanks.
This was Purple Prince, and I’m out!