NBA Finals: five things to take away

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Miami Heat on Sunday, Oct. 11, in Game Six of the NBA Finals by a score of 106-93. LeBron James led the Lakers to the championship with a triple-double consisting of 28 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists. This marks the 17th time the Lakers have raised the Larry O’Brien Championship trophy, which is tied for the most of all-time (with the Boston Celtics). On the other hand, the Miami Heat, led by five time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler, were not necessarily favorites to make the NBA finals, but their young and talented squad put up a fair fight against LeBron James and the Lakers. Below are five of the most important takeaways from this years NBA Finals. 

The LeBron James/Anthony Davis duo is SCARY: 

The combined play from both James and Davis was incredible to watch throughout the entire season. The combo had a dominant presence offensively in the paint and on the perimeter. James and Davis were certainly a force to be reckoned with after James averaged 25 points and 10 assists per game along with Davis’s 26 points and 9 rebounds in the regular season. Aside from the stat lines of these two stars, it seems as though neither of them really had a game where they did not perform well. Normally, basketball’s best all-star combos are a guard and a forward but seeing what James and Davis do is very reminiscent of Larry Bird and Kevin McHale who won three championships together. 

The Lakers did it for Kobe:

The Lakers honored NBA legend Kobe Bryant by wearing “Black Mamba” uniforms in Game Five of the NBA Finals. As many people are aware, Bryant and his daughter Gianna tragically passed away this past Jan. in a helicopter crash. In a recent interview with CBS, Anthony Davis gave his thoughts on the victory and how it was a tribute to Bryant. “All we wanted to do was to do it for him,” Davis said. “He was a big brother to all of us.” The last time the Lakers won a championship, in 2010, Kobe Bryant had a heroic performance averaging 28 points and 8 rebounds for the series. 

The Miami Heat are young and want to win as much as anyone else:

The future certainly looks bright in Miami with the trio of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson and Bam Adebayo. If these three young stars along with Jimmy Butler continue their careers’ with the Miami Heat, they could become one of the more dominant teams in the league. Perhaps the scariest thought is that Tyler Herro is the first player born in the 21st century to play in the NBA Finals. 

We can all learn something from Jimmy Butler:

The 2019-20 NBA season featured the rise of Jimmy Butler and Michael Jordan-esque work ethic. Many people see Butler play basketball on TV, but they have no idea how he got to this point. His life off of the court has been anything but easy. At just 13 years old, Jimmy’s mother kicked him out of the house, forcing to live with friends and go back and forth between houses for a few years. Basketball was one of the only things he had to count on so he worked extremely hard at it. He played basketball in high school but received no attention from any top colleges so he attended Tyler Junior College in Texas. He eventually got the attention of Marquette University and he would play there for three years before declaring for the NBA Draft and the rest is history. If there is something that Jimmy Butler’s life can show us, it is that nothing beats hard work and determination even when life seems to push you around. 

The Lakers had incredible contributors on and off the bench: 

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of the Lakers championship run was their depth. One could argue that the Lakers bench could even beat some NBA teams’ starting lineups. Without key contributions from players such as Rajon Rondo, Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, etc., this year’s NBA Championship would not be theirs. Aside from the bench, the starters for the Los Angeles Lakers put on a show. LeBron James and Anthony Davis proved to be a great duo on the court. However, when James and Davis were not on the court, the talented subs proved to be too much for the Miami Heat.