Prior to the bubble re-start of the of the NBA, nobody talked of a finals’ match up between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat.
But that is the reality facing basketball fans all over the world.
I normally write this piece two days in advance, so as I write this, I really do not know what will happen in Game 1, even as I am making a small online bet on the Heat to win, with a plus 5.5.
Allow me to take a quick look back at the conference finals.
In the West, I really had no doubt that the Lakers will win over the Nuggets, to fulfil at least half of my “fearful” prediction of the Lakers being in the finals.
However, it was in the East that I messed up, believing up to the end that Boston can still come back from a 1-3 deficit against the Miami Heat. I even lost a bet to show my loyalty to the Celtics, even though an inner voice was telling me that the Heat had the number of the Celtics.
And had Boston gone all the way to the finals against Los Angeles, that would have been a bigger draw as the two teams would have met for the 13th time to contest the crown. Boston is way ahead though in its title showdowns with LA, winning nine titles. Overall though, a Lakers’ win this season would tie them with Boston for the most number of crowns at 21 apiece.
My conclusion for that conference finals series, the better team lost to a team that played better. That is how the Heat won, they played better in the end and deserve that hard-earned finals’ slot against the Lakers.
Now, let us go to the championship match up. No doubt, the Lakers, behind the duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, with a good supporting cast in all positions, particularly in the middle, are so favored to win that a P2,000 bet on Miami to beat Los Angeles would net P8,000.
As one basketball analyst said, we should not expect the Lakers to lose, but what we can expect is for the Heat to make it a real close championship series.
I believe Miami will make it a close one, and who knows, hard work, for which the Heat is known for, might end up prevailing over talent.
The Pat Riley-initiated Heat culture of being ready to play anyone at anytime and anywhere, and all out any time, will be a major factor. There were some that pointed out this will be personal for Pat because James abandoned the Heat before.
I will also give Fil-Am Heat coach Eric Spoelstra, who will be in his 5th NBA finals already with two titles to his credit as head coach, another as assistant coach all with Miami, the edge over LA coach Frank Vogel.
Yes, the Heat has its own duo of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, but after them are relative unknowns, except for the ageing Andre Iguodala, who can still play quality minutes barring injuries.
People will argue that the likes of Goran Dragic and Jae Crowder, plus the blooming Tyler Herro and Duncan Robinson, who are capable of shooting the daylights out at any time, particularly the former, who set a record 37 points as a rookie in a conference finals, can be a match against the more known supporting cast of the Lakers like Dwight Howard, Javale McGee, Rajon Rondo, Kyle Kuzma, Danny Green, and Alex Caruso.
And I will agree with that observation. I will even give Jimmy’s back up crew the advantage in self confidence, that they believe they can beat the hell of any one across their path.
But it is in the two teams’ primary players that would be a bigger factor, LeBron, with his all-around skills, can affect the game, but Butler, the way he plays, affects his teammates.
For me, Butler is ahead of LeBron in overall impact as a team leader, including the intangibles.
The big question, will this be enough to carry the Heat past the Lakers?
Only time will tell us.
