As we begin to enter the ‘wheeling and dealing’ phase of the shortest NBA off season ever I thought it would be fun to juxtapose the trade scenarios with some reasons why I think we should hold onto some of our key contributors not named Anthony Davis or LeBron James. While some of these players may end up elsewhere, in this opionators opinion that we should do what we can to retain their services.

1. Rajon Rondo. The obvious first choice. He may only play for 1/3 to 1/2 the regular season, may take careless risks in the regular season and his superpower is laregly rendered moot during the regular season. While I believe the moniker “Playoff Rondo” to be both overly simplistic and factually incorrect (I prefer Hyper-Prepared Rondo, lol) there is no denying his impact in a 7 game series. Furthermore, he’s the perfect backup point guard to pair with LeBron and Davis. He doesn’t need to score. Ever. His impact is not in the amount of points he scores but rather the points he creates for others. The buckets he scores are the cherry on top. His ability to be a coach on the floor, bringing the guys together during foul shots, and allowing LeBron to take on a off-ball roll are all instrumental to the Lakers success.
2. Alex Caruso coming in hot right behind Rondo. There’s a Wall Street Journal story about the pairing of Caruso and James. Together they have +18.6 points per 100 possessions. The other HOF and All Star teammates LeBron has played with that reached that number? Z-E-R-O. Not Kyrie, not Wade, not Davis, Bosh or Love. Nobody. The tandem of James and Caruso was more devastating than the hyped pick and roll we hoped to see from LBJ and AD. You don’t trade that weapon away for a player of unknown impact or for an expensive HOF/All Star that needs the ball. Certainly not for Jrue Holiday. No offense to any other player in the NBA but it takes a certain amount of selflessness, smarts and physical gifts that few possess to succeed at that level playing with a star like LeBron. Putting selflessness first was not by chance, it defines Caruso as a player. he doesn’t need the ball to score, hits enough threes to keep defenders kind of honest and is an excellent off-ball cutter. James and Rondo both rely on those kinds of players to rack up assists and open the floor for drives. The funny thing is it sort of took Avery Bradley opting out of the Bubble for Caruso to truly shine which begs the following question: if Bradley opts in and with Caruso under contract, where does that leave us with Rajon Rondo and KCP in free agency?
3. Kyle Kuzma. I know, this one looks a little odd to me, too. But here’s my line of thinking. Yes, the Lakers are a mega-earning powerhouse sports franchise. Yes the Lakers are known to value superstar wattage to solid production from role players. Yes Kyle Kuzma had an up and down season and regressed (again) from the three point line. But he was our 3rd leading scorer in the regular season and only .7 points behind KCP in points per game in the playoffs. His defense, play making and ability to do things other than score to help the team all took steps forward, especially his defense. On top of all that Kyle is cheap this year ($3.5 mil for 2020-21) and cheap in terms of QO/cap hit in the year of Giannis ($5.2 mil, but with an $8.9 mil cap hit until signed). This is significant for a variety of reasons. Cheap, impactful talent is 24 karat solid gold for an NBA GM. You want to avoid triggering the hard cap at any and all costs and Kuzma keeps improving every year in multiple ways. If he can regain anything close to the touch he showed as a rookie we will have a player that can start or have tremendous impact coming off the bench. The Caruso Rule applies here, as well: unless you’re bringing back the perfect fit of a player for both AD and LeBron, and there aren’t many, stick with what worked and let it improve even more. A 5-10% overall improvement in Kuzma’s game puts him in similar categories to a lot of the players we theorize trading Kyle for but at a fraction of the cost.
4. Dwight Howard. This one depends a lot on what late-career Dwight is looking for. Money? Guaranteed starting spot? Larger role on offense? Rings? if it’s the last one my hope is he can find a way to return to LA on a cheap deal, we won’t be able to offer him a deal that represents his true value to the team. While he may not be the Dwight of old (and has been taking some heat from his family on social media for his Dad skills) he was invaluable in some of our playoff series wins. The pressure he puts on the defensive rebounding of our opposition is elite, his rolls to the rim are effective and he still has great defensive timing when he challenges shots. While I wouldn’t consider moving players in order to free ups space to offer him more money I would consider offering him a deal early in free agency that was a raise over his pittance he played for last season.
5. This one will be controversial but I’ve done some crunching and it’s hard to dispute his impact: keeping Danny Green even if it means we don’t sign KCP.. I know, I know…he’s over-priced based on his box score stats. But if one is being honest and looks at the deeper numbers Green’s impact on the Lakers on both ends of the floor was essential to the success of the team. Green is tossed into trades because of the need to fill salary while chasing other team’s superstars and the gaps are filled in, often with some of the players mentioned above. But, for one second, let’s say we don’t shoot for an unnecessary home run, after all we did just win the NBA championship and almost as impressive earn the best record in the West. Green’s shooting opens the floor, even when he misses, because he has shown a knack for hitting big shots, going on streaks from three and making the defense pay for forgetting him. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, a key reason I would choose keeping Green rather than potentially breaking the bank to keep UFA Caldwell-Pope and he’s solid on defense. The one thing that makes me lean more to the KCP side of things, should it come down to trading Green to clear space to resign Pope and not get hard capped.

There are some controversial notions above, I admit, furthermore the Lakers may feel entirely differently than I do. I don’t work for the Los Angeles Lakers under Rob Pelinka so I can’t say with any certainty whatsoever how they evaluate their current players or juxtapose the roster with what they think they can trade for. For my part,as an observer and opionator, I can’t think of a player that we can trade for that will bring back the impact of Caruso for the cost of the player. They just don’t exist. Another superstar will see limited touches and role if they’re a guard or ball handling forward, that’s LeBron’s role for at least another year, possibly many more. But there’s also a line of thinking that says we should start building for the future. For my part I firmly believe that both Kuzma and Caruso can be a part of that. Of course if once-in-a-lifetime trade presents itself and one or both are the coveted assets then you make that deal. That’s not Chris Paul, at least not to me. Jrue Holidy is the better fit and we should not include Caruso in that deal, we have other assets I’m far more willing to part with.

The last point I’ll make on all of this is why I didn’t include KCP or Markieff Morris as a top-five keeper. While I valued their contributions and both played very well in the playoffs I think we have the players to absorb their loss. I’m assuming Avery Bradley opts in. Frankly, that makes Pope an un-affordable extravagance. He played well in the playoffs, and was instrumental in the NBA Finals but he and Bradley’s skill sets overlap and, frankly, Avery is the better player. He’s as good of a defender, if not better. He’s just as good a scorer and less apt to make silly plays (I have a standing rule that KCP is good for one bone-headed pass/game and he generally meets that standard, that’s not a knock just a reality the player has created via their play). So, if Bradley opts in we’re good at the off-guard spot. The reasoning for Markieff is twofold: I’d rather keep Dwight and stay away from Hard Cap land and I’d think THT can bring the same impact. That last point is highly debatable but he was solid in his playoff showing, great in the G-League and with the success of so many of our developmental league players I’d just as soon bet on that than potentially having to over-pay or use an Exception to keep Morris.

If you’re interested in a quick tutorial on what triggers the Hard Cap and what that means this is helpful: https://basketball.realgm.com/article/241253/CBA-Encyclopedia-Hard-Cap

If you’re curious about our current cap situation, check this site out: https://www.spotrac.com/nba/los-angeles-lakers/cap/

The Utah Jazz have been sold by the Millers. While they will almost certainly stay in Utah for the foreseeable future this begs the question raised by LakerTom somewhere down yonder when he stated “…nobody will be selling their franchises.” It’s not that I disagree, I’m just not going to outright dismiss the possibility that some small market, perennially failing and especially family-owned teams might get an offer that is hard to leave on the table. In the opinionating on sports and their inner workings game we like to play it’s always easier to play with and make decisions with someone else’s money and future.

It’s why, while I admit the idea seems both farfetched and something which both sides would be loathe to see happen, I haven’t entirely ruled out the potential of a lockout or strike. While I do believe that both sides will move mountains to make it happen there is one mountain that could be too big to move: the mountain of money the owners stand to lose without paying fans next season. While there is more money to be lost should there be no season at all and the NBA and NBPA have proven to be the most congenial and collaborative of owner/union groups there’s enough that could be disagreed upon that makes the pragmatist in me raise one, one mind you, eyebrow.

OK. Here we are. Again. The dreaded NBA Dog Days where all and every shred of potential information will be over-analyzed, over-debated and over-discussed. I will say these are my happiest dog days in nigh a decade. Since we won it all and such. Before we forget about everything we saw and heard in the Bubble I wanted to revisit a few of the things I really liked about Bubble play.

1. The extra space on the base and side lines. I can imagine the owners not liking the idea of moving back the court side ($$$) seats, the camera guys being annoyed at having to get great action shots from an extra 15 feet away and folks up on the stanchion seats not getting to watch the under the basket battles rage. Frankly, it should be worth it. The first thing and best thing I feel about how the play in the Bubble was different was all the extra out of bounds space. It allowed for more athletic drives, more aggressive pass interception attempts and generally added to the excitement. While I don’t expect the space to remain it tops my list of favorite things about the in-game experience.
2. Microphone on the lead official. Honestly, why hasn’t this already been done? We already mic up random players from each team, drop a mic into the coaches huddle, interview the coaches from the sideline and we added a pregame interview with X factor players that also was some danged boring TV. But you know what I really appreciated (when they remembered to turn them on) was hearing the rules explained from the official in real time. That was cool and I wish they would do it over the in-arena sound system like in the NFL, as well.
3. Bigger bench area. It was cool for the players not playing to add to the fun with cheering, jeering and cavorting when they weren’t on the floor. Lighting the entry tunnels in team colors was really cool, too. While some of these things (especially the added room for the bench players) will likely disappear as the threat of COVID does (should that ever happen…) I sure hope they allow for the excitement the bench players being able to stand and cheer their teammates on introduced during the bubble.
4. Virtual fans. You might be asking your self…how? How would this be accomplished in arenas where there are live fans and furthermore…why? I’ll admit that this one is a bit shaky. Assuming that, even in a world and an NBA season that exists within COVID-19 and that the NBA is somehow going to go ahead and bring some fans into arenas somewhere and there will be humans paying to watch other humans play basketball. Watching the World Series makes me think they should have just kept the cardboard cut outs…it’s like you turned on a minor league game that got moved to a too big stadium. If you want to have folks fill out the arena in a socially distant way…indoors…you’re going to have a very small amount of people. So why not have the virtual fans in places where people wouldn’t want, or be able to, be seated? Keep the intensity at a higher level. Keep fans into the game, and besides it’s cool to see who on planet Earth is tuning in.
5. Saved the best for last: keep the BLACK LIVES MATTER on the court, every court in every arena. Keep the jersey messaging, keep all of the social justice line items, keep it all. The fans you lose aren’t worth the tears or energy it would take to make them understand why this is important. When they come around, if they come around, we can welcome them back with open arms. But the fact that a multi-billion corporate entity in America is lending it’s voice to a movement for social justice is a big deal. This is not a gimmick, this is a movement and every voice behind it makes it louder. The NBA is an amplifier, it is not the message. Keep the messaging.

Those are the things I would love to see carry over, in some fashion or other. The only one of those I truly expect to make it is the social justice messaging, I think the players will demand it to the degree that they can. The space…probably won’t make the cut, those are high dollar inches and feet. Refs might stay mic’d up, not likely to be like the NFL. Anyhow, here’s hoping that some of the cooler things from the Bubble stick around.

“Lakers #1” is something a good buddy of mine say to one another whenever the Lakers do well. In recent years that phrase had fallen off quite a bit. We made it a point to got to STAPLES at some point every year, this year we were unable to make that journey as we had loose plans to catch a game near the end of the regular season. Obviously planetary events altered those plans. So, for my friend, for the Laker fans around the globe, and for all of us Lakerholics here I’d like to say it again: LAKERS #1!

1. LeBron James is an incredible talent. You might not have cheered when he became a Laker, you may have had another player that you thought might fit better alongside the Lakers who were on the team at that point in time, but there is little doubt that The King is among the best to ever lace them up. If not the best. His 27th post season triple-double was a gem. 28 points (on 13-20 shooting), 14 boards, 10 assists, with a steal to only a solitary turnover. James trails only Magic Johnson (30) for post-season triple-doubles. Here’s hoping that happens sometime next year. One last thing on James: I have little to no doubt that he was the right man to bring this franchise back to prominence and have felt that way for some time. His everyday quest for greatness isn’t something you can quantify on a stat sheet or shot chart. His gravitas, style and personality both on and off the court allowed the Laker franchise to recede from it’s drama-filled decade of no banners and focus more on just being an NBA team. The drama that surrounded the Lakers this year was generated externally, not internally and I think that went a long way to fostering the winning environment we fans are enjoying today.
2. Anthony Davis and his 100% correct right answer. “I have no idea” is his direct quote in terms of whether he was returning as a Laker or not. Man… I know it’s the job of a journalist and all but, in these times, after what these men and their families went through–what the world is going through still…can we let him have an evening of enjoyment and celebration? Davis was a monster on defense last night and was everything the Lakers could have hoped for when they traded burgeoning All Star Brandon Ingram and host of other complimentary players for him last summer. His cool, jazzy style meshed perfectly with James’ hard-driving power chord attack. The two together bought into coach Vogel’s defense and the rest is now history. He is a Laker Legend no matter what happens. I fully expect him to return and I expect it to be on a large contract. But even if, for whatever reason, he does not…it won’t matter to me as that will be a personal decision that Davis, his family and his agent will make. If you ask me I think it’s a done deal and he was being a young human enjoying something he’s worked extremely hard his entire life for.
3. The Last of the Mohicans (aka Kyle Kuzma). Kyle was once a member of the heralded and well-regarded Laker Youth movement. Caruso wasn’t really a part of that, that’s a different bullet point. I’ll wager that few Laker faithful thought that Kyle would be the last one to be in purple and gold, holding the Larry O’ and soaking in the bubbly. It took a redefinition of his game and embracing a secondary role for him to get to this point but I think he would agree the journey has been worth it. His attention to the defensive end enabled him to overcome his streak shooting. While he has the tools to be a solid one-on-one player he subverted that skill set to a large degree in the playoffs and contented himself to be a decent spot-up shooter and above average defender. Kyle taking on that challenge, and succeeding, is a big reason whey we did as well as we did this year. He learned what it is to be a great teammate which is an entirely different skill set than becoming a great player. In the doing he’s now learned what it feels like to be a champion.
4. Speaking of Alex Caruso… His last start of the 2019-20 season was his best. His ferocity and determination on defense helped hold that end together and allowed us to absorb the loss of Avery Bradley. KCP got more minutes in his role, Rondo got healthy and able to contribute, but the decision to go whole hog on small ball in game 6 and start Caruso over Morris (who could not contain Jimmy Butler and was getting hunted on offense in game 5) was a testament to the coaches faith in him and his hard work. I doubt he’ll ever match his defensive impact on the offensive end and that’s OK. It takes guys like Caruso to make an elite NBA defense work. He never gripes about his role, minutes or shots, he’s a solid teammate and a testament to the Lakers development system. What a journey from “who is that Ernie Johnson look-a-like?” on TNT a couple years back to having one more ring to show off at parties than Charles Barkley.
5. Coach Frank Vogel. I saved the best point for last. We knew of the greatness of James, the impact of Davis and we’re familiar with the stories of the young Lakers. Frank Vogel was approximately zero people’s first choice to coach the Lakers, probably not even in his own mind. In the end, it’s been revealed yet again that what the people say is one thing but it’s what a person does that defines the times. During the game if you were listening to the audio Frank Vogel at one point was telling his team they were in the midst of a defensive masterpiece. That is truth. While the Heat did run the score up on us towards the end of the game to make it look like less of a blow out the fact that we held them to 36 half time points is astounding. Truly a remarkable accomplishment and it was done through hard work, great shot contests and adroit passing lane coverage in the middle of the floor. It almost felt like the Lakers had been laying a trap for Miami throughout the Finals and sprung it in game 6. The Heat had zero answer for the Laker defensive pressure which in turn fueled our transition game and helped us dominate in paint points. Coach Vogel deserves all the credit in the world for being a calm, steadying point amidst all the noise and drama his hiring was surrounded by, the events of the season, COVID and how the team navigated the Bubble. His evolution and ability to adapt to playoff realities and match ups stands in stark contract to coaches that have more name power, flashier styles of play or more experience. You’ve come a long way, Frank, and Laker Nation thanks you for bringing us along.
   

Honestly, I could go on. Bonus point has to go to one Jeannie Buss who just became the first female owner to win a championship…in any sport. There aren’t many female owners (true owners, I’m not talking they have a tiny share, this is Jeannie’s team and she’s made sure everyone knows) and Jeannie has long been the best of the bunch. From taking the reigns after her father’s passing, to moving the team through the twilight of Kobe’s career into the Kobe-less years, ousting Jim and Mitch, not letting Magic’s departure derail anything at all, trusting Rob “could have gotten a thing point too” Pelinka to helping the NBA as an entity as much as she does her franchise Jeannie is an excellent example of what a modern owner should embrace to be successful on and off the court. I know the Lakers have ended huddles with 1-2-3 MAMBA!!! and that is apropos, but in a lot of ways this one was also for Jeannie Buss who, at long last, did her Dad proud to the fullest degree. Congratulations, Jeannie.

Well, that’s it. That’s all I got for today. Couldn’t write this last night, had to watch the game again. It was that fun. I’m in a slight state of disbelief but it is indeed true. I checked ESPN, we’re the champions, again. It feels fitting, as well. To you Lakerholics, old, new, and even those who have moved on I say thank you. Thank you for your time, passion and fandom. The last few years haven’t been easy, nothing is guaranteed and to stay on board the Laker ship during it’s tumultuous voyage to this point hasn’t always been easy. But our faith has been rewarded. Banner #17 will one day hang at STAPLES, there will be some sort of parade at some point, and best of all we’ll begin our defense of this moment sometime next year, hopefully with some if getting to attend those games in STAPLES. So to all of you I say “enjoy this!” because these moments, like a ll good things, are fleeting. Don’t take rings for granted for they are earned not bestowed. Tip of the cap to Jimmy Butler, the Miami Heat team and all the folks who are a part of the most excellent organization. If any team was destined to match up against the Lakers this season there are a lot of reasons the Miami Heat were the most apropos. James played there, Riles came from here, Vogel never beat them and so on and so forth. They say it takes a lot of heat to correctly forge steel. That statement has never rung truer.

Go Lakers.

PS: One last tidbit, after this week I’ll be doing a fiver on every current Laker to assess their performance over the course of the season, where they stand in terms of our future and how the team might look when next it’s assembled to defend the title so keep on popping by. Thanks to LakerTom for hosting us all on his awesome site, to magicman for all the fine mojo he brings and again to all you Lakerholics who help fuel the discussion and keep the passion burning. Have a good one and if we don’t see during the off-season, however long that will be, we’ll see you next time.

Well that certainly could have ended better. The biggest problem I had with that game was how very many chances to win we flitted, fumbled and bumbled away. The Lakers still have the edge but it feels like Miami got some mean to ’em and are gaining momentum. No box score stuff tonight, just vibes and notions.

1. Jimmy “fucking” Butler. No need to mince words. The dude is a superstar and Spo’s quote about him slumping over near the end and ‘that’s what a champion looks like before they’re a champion’ or something to that effect, rings true. Butler was superb and when he’s playing one of his nova games, white hot and impossible to contain. The Lakers have to keep him off the foul line and force him to be a jump shooter and not a LeBron/Pippen hybrid like he was tonight. Just have to do a better job containing one aspect of his game and forcing him into shots he doesn’t like. Easier said than done. My hope is that the coaching staff that figured out the riddles of Lillard, Harden and Murray have one more solution in ’em to figure out Butler. But I must say, I have mad respect for Jimmy’s game.
2. Hoping Davis is as healthy as possible for Sunday evening. That foot injury may not have kept him from playing but it certainly hindered his aggression. We need him to do more, especially on defense where he sagged off, stopped guarding Butler as much, and didn’t demand the ball down the stretch. We need him to be the next great Laker on Sunday.
3. LeBron’s most excellent effort. James was a joy to watch tonight, in fact I wish he had taken that last shot and let everyone crash the boards. I don’t want to say James has to do more, too…but…he does. Especially if Davis is hobbled and less aggressive like he was tonight. I just don’t know how much there can be left to /eave out on that court. James and Butler had an epic Jedi Knight light-saber duel in the bowels of Cloud City. He needs Han, Leia, Chewie and the droids to show up and lend some aid.
4. The Laker bench can’t be outplayed by Kendrick Nunn. 14 to 14 was the bench points scoring (I know, I know, I said no box score stuff) the problem was only two Miami players came off the bench and only one of them scored. Both benches had 10 rebounds, again 2 against 4 and Miami played us even. Assists? Lakers won that one, and should considering Rondo comes off the bench but the difference was only +3 (8-5). Our bench had 2 more steals (3-1) and they tied us in blocked shots ( 1 apiece). The Laker bench turned the ball over 7 times, the Heat 1. While we don’t need the bench to save us the 4 of them need to outplay the 2 Heat bench players, and they need to take care of the ball. The bench defense is clutch, the effort is solid, I’m a huge Caruso guy, a longtime Rondo fan and been pulling for Kuzma as the last of the old Laker future in the pre-King era. But here, in the NBA Finals, they need to do more, play harder and play better.
5. Wipe the slate clean. It’s one game, it does not a season make. It only extends the series, gives Miami another shot and provides 36 hours of news fodder about “what the Lakers can blah blah blah”. It’s not rocket science what they need to do: the riddle is how they can accomplish those tasks. Keep Butler off the line by sagging off more, let him shoot 18-20 foot jumpers, that’s a win for the defense. When Nunn comes in, stick Caruso on him and shut him down. AC seemed able to keep Nunn under wraps, especially in the second half. Be aggressive to start not LeBron James teammates. We need to start with some fire, make the Heat fight up a hill for a few quarters, wear them down and finish them on Sunday. No need to hold back, don’t save anything else, lay it out there and play unchained.

Might finally get a prediction right and be able to shave and get a hair cut, got quite the playoff look going. Rock in paradise, Edward, you were as LA as it gets and we could use some of that rocking on Sunday.

Go Lakers.

Just a lil fiver for your day. I am personally super-pumped for tonight and am giddy to be done with work like I haven’t been since March. Let’s do this Lakerholics!!!

1) Hot start. The entire game will be easier if we don’t spend the first quarter searching for rhythm or mojo. Come out with a purpose, hit your open looks and play hard. The rest will come in the flow of the game.

2) Lock in on defense. As if this needed to be said, but it’s the biggest key to a close out. Make life hard, if Dwight plays then make sure you are felt in the paint when Miami drives. No easy, uncontested shots.

3) But also defend without fouling. Especially Jimmy Butler. We need to keep him off the line, stymie Miami’s easy points they accumulate from the stripe. Contest, body up, no easy layups but no flagrant fouls and don’t get into the ref game. Just hoop.

4) Take care of the little things. Make your free throws, cheer from the sidelines if you’re a G-Leaguer, be ready if you’re a rotation guy because you never know when that number you’re wearing will be called. Trends provide narrative and media fodder but the truth is anything can happen tonight. So no injuries, be ready to do your job and be a great teammate.

5) Let LeBron and AD do their thing. One of my off-season topics will be ‘why did we not see more directly linked LBJ/AD action this season. The James/Davis pick and roll has been run maybe a dozen times and it usually results in a pass to a different player, it’s used as much for deception as for production. Nevertheless, both players have shown they can dominate the game when sharing the floor. They need to do that tonight for us to have any kind of shot. Subpar games need not show up today, bring that A game and let’s bring home banner 17 to hang on STAPLES!!!

Go Lakers.

That was a hard fought contest and maybe the best basketball game of the Bubble. A see-saw game that saw big plays from multiple players on both squads. The Heat got Bam back but it wasn’t enough to stymie and multi-pronged Laker attack. Do the Heat have another wrench to throw in the gears?

1. LeBron and AD playing more to form. We’ve said it here on the blog all year (literally, this season has taken a whole dang year almost!) and it’s still true today: we’re only going as far as James and Davis take us. They were both solid and steady all game long making the plays the team needed down the stretch, being tough on the glass (21 rebounds combined) and hitting the big shots down the stretch. Miami has certainly found a way to make the game tougher for LeBron and Anthony. The great ones find a way to rise above and reach a higher plateau and while neither player had a “one for the record books” game they both did the job of leading the team to a win.
2. Starting guards to the rescue! KCP was stellar last night, huge on both ends and the victim of The Mystery of the Missing Whistle in the first half. Danny Green was also solid (for once) and when these guys contribute like this it makes LeBron and Rondo’s job a lot easier. The starting duo combined for 26 points (10-20, 5-14 from three), 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. That’s what we need to have happen on Friday to end the series otherwise we could easily be looking at game 6 on Sunday if they can’t make shots and impact other areas of the game. Pope was instrumental in overcoming a very sluggish start from LeBron.
3. Bench Squad: In COLOR! I’m calling ’em the Bench Squad, a nod to the old Leslie Nielsen TV show, Police Squad (later turned into a cinematic trilogy, The Naked Gun) comedies but there’s nothing funny about these guys. To a man Rondo, Caruso, Morris and Kuzma played really well. With much of Miami’s bench now in the starting line up due to injury (or racking up DNP-coaches decision’s) the pressure our bench creates by playing well is more important than ever. If they can keep pouring in about 20 ppg and doing the things they’re supposed to be doing, especially on defense, it’s going to be hard for Miami to salvage another win. It’ll be interesting to see what happens if Dragic comes back on Friday. One would assume he at least gives it a go which would mean he either comes off the bench (unlikely since the injury might stiffen up after warming up) or pushes Tyler Herro back to a secondary role.
4. Keeping Butler off the free throw line. One of the big keys in any game against the Heat is keeping them, and especially Jimmy Butler, off the free throw line. It looked like we were going to fail in that task early on as the Lakers watched Miami rack up double digit free throw attempts to our 5 in the first half. We cleaned that up in the second half and stayed aggressive, getting ourselves to the line in the process and swinging the game in our favor. LeBron was relentless in attacking the pressure and helped close the free throw gap and AD’s defense on Butler was stellar.
5. The continuing evolution of Frank Vogel. What a ride this team has been on, from going on one heckuva role just before COVID to coming into the Bubble playing in an underwhelming fashion. Frank had a line up that was clicking in the regular season. But it’s been really interesting watching how Frank has embraced, in his own way, the more modern concepts of NBA basketball. Using Morris more at center, using Dwight or JaVale to get AD some time at the 4 and saving him for late game excellence on defense. Unlocking the defense of Kyle Kuzma which has been huge in the playoffs and elevating Caruso to defensive spark plug. There’s certainly more to like about his evolution and growth and we can more into that in the off season. I just wanted to take a second and express my admiration for a coach who came in with a mind set, adapted it to the players he has, and made it work out on the court. Reminds me a lot of Nick Nurse, in that regard. Many coaches would be wise to adopt a similar level of flexibility in their thinking. Sometimes it feels like the philosophy and personnel don’t exactly mesh and that solid talent is relegated to the bench or cast aside in favor of an ideal. Vogel is practical, I admire that a lot.

One win people. One stinking win away from banner #17! It’s an incredible precipice we’re standing on and I am loving every second of these NBA Finals. Bam is back, it won’t be enough if we get solid contributions from the roster and good to great games from Davis and James. Jimmy B. needs to play at a historic, and frankly unsustainable, level in order to elevate Miami to ‘W’ potential. He might have one more of those in him on Friday but if I can go 0-fer on predictions and we get the cookie you can color me happy as a clam.

Go Lakers.

Sounds like he finally went ahead and got that hip procedure he should have done years ago. Hope he can come back and be a force in the Association.

The Laker blueprint for success was laid out early in training camp. The bedrock principle of this team would be defense that would fuel a devastating fast break attack led by LeBron James. AD and LBJ bought in to the defense early, used the transition game expertly and had guys on the team that created enough space for it all to work in the half court. That recipe led us all the way until game 2 of the NBA Finals when something…unexpected happened.

1. “Take what the defense gives you.” This aged sport axiom is casually tossed around often. Last night the Los Angeles Lakers took that to record breaking heights by first establishing a new NBA record for three pointers in a half (27) and then continuing on and breaking the record for threes in an NBA Finals game (47). While we didn’t hit those threes at an absurd level (34.7%) we hit enough to maintain a comfortable lead, create offensive rebounds for easy second chance points and to stall out Miami’s zone defense. This record might last as long as it takes to get to 4 PM (PST) on Sunday when Miami is quite likely to trot that zone out again and the Lakers will take the open shots provided.
2. Nifty post passing. It’s already a trend in the series and it was started in game 1 by Dwight Howard when he had more assist (2) then buckets made (0). Last night saw a plethora of Lakers get behind the zone, get the ball and drop a quick pass into the paint for a hoop. The problem with a zone is it doesn’t account for large areas of the court and there has always been truth that the pass is the quickest way to move the ball. Defense’s can track a pass but when they come in quick succession they can’t keep up. I don’t care how long or fast you are, it’s an impossible task. The Lakers broke the Miami zone by accepting and shooting the open threes and getting easy duck-ins behind the defense.
3. The most dominant pair in the NBA. LeBron and Anthony are reaching Kobe/Shaq heights in terms of Laker lore and overall NBA dominance. Miami has no answer, none, for this version of Anthony Davis and James has long been as unstoppable a force as has existed in the Association. Last night they continued their romp and are putting up video game numbers on the Heat. James barely missed a triple double, Davis is either shooting over or blowing by any of the defenders Miami puts on him and James and Davis out-rebounded the Heat starters (23-22) on their own. It doesn’t feel like there is an adjustment Miami can make at this point. Even if Bam gets healthy and back on the court he alone isn’t enough to contain Davis and nobody has been able to single-handily stop LeBron since he came into the league. The Zone is (was…) Miami’s best chance at an equalizer. It’s not working.
4. The Laker Bench putting in work. The bench of LA was monstrous last night. Everyone who played scored, except for JR Smith, and every one hit at least 2 threes. The Laker bench took the challenge thrown down by Miami (beat us from three) and ran with it. The Laker bench helped corral this win with their three point shot considering that Danny Green (1-8) and KCP (2-11) shot terribly from distance. While we took the three in volume we made our standard amount (34%) and that was due to the bench showing up.
5. Don’t let the wounded animal bite you. Miami looks done, body language signals they’re done. I don’t believe it, while I now have serious doubts about my earlier prediction (6 games but also that was a non-jinx us prediction, I also have a Tom Hanks in Castaway beard and hair style going until we pull this thing out) I feel like Miami could win a game with a Bam boost. I’ll be surprised if Dragic plays again, Foot injuries are nothing to mess with especially being a couple short months away from a likely 2021 season. But a Bam boost could propel Miami to a win and avoid the sweep. There have been 8 total Finals sweeps since the ABA/NBA merger in 1949: 2006-07 (Spurs swept Cleveland), 2001-02 (Lakers swept Nets), 1994-95 (Rockets swept Magic), 1988-89 (Pistons sweep injury-riddled Lakers), 1982-83 (Philly swept LA), 1974-75 (warriors sweep Bullets of Washington), 1970-71 (Bucks sweep Bullets of Baltimore) and 1958-59 Boston sweeps the Lakers of Minneapolis). That’s it. So I still expect this Heat squad to do everything possible to avoid joining that ignominious list. We’ll see if they can.

All in all that was a dominating performance on both ends of the court. Lakers seem to have figured out where the chinks in Miami’s armor are and are hammering away bath those spots without mercy. As they should.

Go Lakers.