The Miami Heat were defeated in Game 2 of the NBA Finals. While they kept it sort of close, they couldn’t manage to quite get over the hump.
The Miami Heat came out again on Friday night with a chance to get their first win of the 2020 NBA Finals. They started off decently, as they did in Game 1 and this time, they were able to keep it pretty close throughout.
Here’s the thing though, close is only good in horseshoes and grenades. They were unable to overtake the Lakers, who had a stronghold on a lead that always ranged from 9-14 points throughout the game.
At one point during the game, I and other familiar users on Twitter noticed the phenomenon, which prompted someone to say that it felt as though the lead had been eleven points for an hour. This was not a figurative statement, as it literally did feel that way.
Timely shots from the lakers, a lot of LeBron James, and a whole lot of Anthony Davis was the Heat’s downfall from a defensive perspective. The Miami Heat scored on the Lakers pretty well too, but they were again dominated on the glass and in the painted area as a whole.
The two biggest takeaways are this, the Miami Heat still have a chance to make some noise in this series if Bam Adebayo can return as soon as Sunday, as reports seem to indicate. Secondly, also Bam related, if the Miami Heat shooting can reignite as a complete team, then this series becomes that much more interesting again.
Bam Adebayo nor anyone else can stop Anthony Davis, but he is our best shot at neutralizing him right now, as well as what he does for our overall defense. You also take into account that Bam is a beast on the glass in his own right, so that helps there.
As far as shooting goes, if Duncan Robinson is on, the better everyone else shoots the ball. His gravity gives them more space, trust me.
Well, Duncan has been as lights out as he has off the screen, handoff, or other associated actions from one Bam Adebayo. Robinson was practically nonexistent on Friday night unless he was committing a foul on defense and that has a ton to do with Bam’s absence.
Look, it isn’t looking good right now, but it was supposed to tough. It sure wasn’t supposed to be easy.
This is the type of situation that the Miami Heat are built for and that the foundation of the Miami Heat Culture is built on. I trust that you all know the Miami Heat and that means that you know they won’t quit.
They are down two games in this series, but it is far from over. These were the two biggest takeaways from this latest defeat though and if they can be addressed as it sounds that they will, the Miami Heat could begin to flip things around as soon as Game 3.