And now we’re down to the final two. The 2020 NBA Finals will feature the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat. A match up many did not predict to happen. In spite of that, the championship round will feature a variety of talent.
Heat’s Playoff Journey
Miami’s fairytale bubble experience lives to see the next round after defeating the Boston Celtics in six games. Bam Adebayo led the way for Miami with a stellar performance (32 points, 14 rebounds, five assists). Becoming the first player in team history since LeBron James with 30 points and 10 rebounds in the playoffs. Jimmy Butler was no slouch either (22 points, two rebounds, eight assists) as he looks forward to his first NBA Finals.
Nobody expected to make it this far into the postseason, especially after Miami didn’t make the playoffs a season ago. The addition of Butler was seen as an “okay” move by many analysts. With many labeling Butler as a “cancer” to the locker room. Now heading to the finals, all those negative comments made are now put to rest.
Dwayne Wade, former teammate of Butler and iconic heat player, made a tweet congratulating Jimmy. The Heat are Butler’s third team in three years.
Miami will have a tall task at hand in the Finals. But that isn’t anything new for them as they have already defeated the Bucks and Celtics. However, neither of those teams have a player as great as LeBron James. Butler has already made it clear saying, “If you want to win, you’ll have to go through a LeBron James led team.”
Job’s Not Finished
LeBron James and the Lakers have the same mindset heading into the Finals. Both teams are celebrating these small victories but know what the bigger picture. Repeating the late Kobe Bryant’s word, “Job’s not finished”. Both teams have identical playoff records of 16 victories and three losses.
This will be LeBron’s 10th Finals appearance and his ninth in the last 10 years. No other player on the Heat besides James’ former teammate Udonis Haslm has made an NBA finals. The Lakers have championship experience on their side for this match. But in this case, with no fans heckling or any other type of distraction the main focus will be to play basketball.
Anthony Davis looks to cement a legacy with his first finals appearance. Looking to be yet another big man to win a ring for the Lakers. And LeBron is looking to win his fourth championship since 2016. But the more important goal at hand for the Lakers is to win this championship for Kobe and Gianna Bryant.
The Lakers’ last finals appearance was in 2010 when they defeated the Boston Celtics in Game seven. With Kobe winning his fifth championship. The Heat’s last finals appearance was in 2014. Suffering a defeat to the San Antonio Spurs in five games. This was the last time James wore the Heat jersey before returning back to Cleveland.
Here is the 2020 NBA Finals schedule.
FUN FACT:
Guard Dion Waiter will receive a championship no matter the winner. Waiters is currently under the Lakers roster nursing a groin injury. At the beginning of the season, Waiter was a member of Heat. Waiters was shipped to Memphis as apart of the Andre Iguodala trade.
