The Miami Heat were game. They hung around. They made the Los Angeles Lakers work for their Game 2 Finals win – it remained a 10-point game for most of the fourth quarter.
But LeBron James and the Lakers weren’t about to allow a Heat team missing Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo due to injury to even the series. James put up 33 points, nine rebounds and nine assists and he may not have been the Lakers’ best player. Anthony Davis was spectacular for the second game in a row with 32 points on 15-of-20 shooting, to go along with 14 rebounds in a 124-114 win that put Los Angeles up 2-0 with Game 3 scheduled for Sunday.
Here are some takeaways from the evening.
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AD’s reputation grows
Before there was Giannis Antetokounmpo there was Anthony Davis. While the Milwaukee Bucks star has emerged as the dominant ‘do-everything-seven-footer’ over the past couple of seasons and has two (regular-season) MVP awards to prove it, Davis was there first.
As these playoffs have carried on it’s become more and more evident that the Lakers big man is a more complete player than the Greek Freak. Davis was shooting 38 per cent from three entering Game 2 and 56.7 per cent overall before his 15-of-20 burst, and has shown a wide range of options to get shots off that Antetokounmpo can only dream of at this point in his career. He’s huge man with the quickness and movement skills of a point guard and while Antetokounmpo might be a better ball-handler and passer, Davis can do some of that too and score from all angles – he made 13 of his first 14 shots Friday night.
It will probably always be unwise to suggest anyone is a better player than James as long as No. 23 is alive and breathing, but on this team and in this Finals, the Lakers don’t need him to be the best player on the floor. Davis is doing that job perfectly and it’s a massive reason James is in position to coast to his fourth NBA championship: in Davis he’s got the best teammate he’s ever had and quite possibly the best player in the world other than the King.
Heat looking overmatched
To hear Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra tell it, if it was up to them, Adebayo (shoulder) and Dragic (torn tendon in his foot) would have found a way to play in Game 2.
“I had to play the role of not just head coach, but almost of a parent the last 24 hours,” Spoelstra said before the game. “These two guys are really amazing. Like everybody in our locker room, there’s a real special sense of brotherhood and responsibility. They were both lobbying to play and we ultimately had to take the decision out of their hands for tonight.
“So we have other guys obviously that will get an opportunity tonight and we have learned over the course of really the last three or four months you expect the unexpected. The world has changed and so many things have been thrown at us in the last three or four months, I think our level of grit and perseverance has been tested and proven and it will be again ….”
The Heat’s level of grit and perseverance was never in doubt, but their level of talent? That was fair game as Game 2 unfolded. Without Dragic, their leading playoff scorer and Adebayo, their most athletic big and leader in assists, Miami had no margin for error against the Lakers. They briefly mucked things up for the Lakers by relying heavily on a 3-2 zone, forcing Los Angeles to beat them over the top – the Lakers took a Finals-record 47 threes, making 16 – but they gave up something everywhere else as the Lakers shot 33-of-50 from two, had 16 offensive rebounds and 56 points in the paint.
At the other end, the Heat simply weren’t dangerous enough to threaten the Lakers. Even though Miami’s reliance on cuts and dribble-drive-and-kick promotes an egalitarian approach to scoring, you still need playmakers. Without Adebayo and Dragic on the floor, the Lakers could afford to put Davis on Jimmy Butler for long stretches, forcing him to find his way over, through, or around one of the most mobile seven-footers the NBA has ever seen. Butler still managed 25 points and 13 assists but he was 7-of-17 from the floor and the Heat didn’t have anyone else the Lakers really had to worry about.
The Heat came into the Finals as underdogs hoping their depth would be enough to overcome the Lakers’ star power. With two of their top players down, the Heat are looking a little bit overmatched on the game’s biggest stage.
Howard’s redemption
Dwight Howard seems miscast as the plucky, underdog redemptive story. He was the No. 1 overall pick in 2004, coming straight out of high school and has never not lived up to that billing.
He started all 82 games as a 19-year-old, averaging 12 points, 10 rebounds and nearly two blocks a game in 2004-05. At his peak he finished in the top-five of MVP voting for four straight years beginning in 2007-08, topping out at second 2010-11. He’s a three-time Defensive Player of the Year and led the Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009. He’s earned nearly $250 million in his 16-year career and will end up in the Hall of Fame.
But after James being on track to lead his third franchise to a championship and Davis emerging as a force that looks capable of helping win a few more in LA, Howard has become a feel-good narrative in the Finals. He’s overcome significant back problems and perhaps more significantly an ego problem that prevented him from adapting to the duties of the modern big man. Howard was slow to accept that teams weren’t going to run offence through the post and he wasn’t going to get his touches there – it was a huge source of tension in his one previous season in Los Angeles when the Lakers thought he was going to part of a super team with Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant.
When he didn’t get the ball Howard pouted, his teammates grew frustrated with him and his career began sliding. This time around Howard is proving to be the humble servant a non-shooting, non-ball-handling big has to be in the NBA now. At 34 he’s still an effective rim protector, as he showed early on by blocking Butler when it looked like the Heat star was home free. Howard can still run the floor; he’s a lob threat and he sucks in the Heat defence simply by forcing his way to the rim for rebounds and second-chance points.
It’s not the way Howard was supposed to win an NBA title when he was one of the biggest stars in the game, but it’s working for him now.
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Olynyk flashes excellence
As the Heat’s fortunes have risen, Kelly Olynyk’s role has shrunk. The emergence of Adebayo as the primary playmaking big has cut into the Canadian national team veteran’s playing time. He averaged 19.4 minutes a game in the regular season in his third year with the Heat, down from roughly 23 minutes a game the past two seasons. In the playoffs he’s been getting just 12.5 minutes a game and was DNP-CD (Did Not Play-Coach’s Decision) in two of the Heat’s previous four games.
But with Adebayo sidelined Olynyk’s role was bound to increase. The former Kamloops, B.C., high school star acquitted himself well as he came off the bench and played 37 minutes, the second most in his playoff career. He knocked down an open three on his first touch – an element he brings that Adebayo doesn’t – and scored another nice hoop on a give-and-go leading to a layup under Davis’s outstretched fingers.
After picking up a pair of quick fouls he did the best he could around the rim defensively against the Lakers, who always had either Davis or the bruising Howard barrelling around the paint. All of which helped the Heat hang around in the first half. He kept it up in the second half, highlighted by a dribble-drive that he finished while drawing a foul on James that helped keep the Heat to within striking distance – down by 10 – heading into the fourth quarter. That Olynyk had 15 of his 24 points by that point was a big reason why.
He could become a free agent this off-season if chooses but with the economics of the NBA uncertain and Olynyk coming off a less-than-stellar season – mainly due to circumstances outside his control – it would be a surprise if he didn’t pick up his $12-million option for 2020-21 and hope he’ll be in a more marketable position afterwards. More performances like he put up in Game 2 are a reminder of how effective he can be.
What’s next
For the first time in 10 Finals appearances James is on a team that is up 2-0. It’s doubtful he’ll relax. In 2011, James’ Heat team went up 1-0 against the Dallas Mavericks, blew a big lead in Game 2 as the Mavericks tied the series and went on to win the title in six games in one of James’ lower career moments.
“That (Game 2 in 2011) burns me to this day,” James told reporters earlier this week. “I always talk about the best teacher in life is experience, and I’ve experienced a lot … I’ve experienced moments in my career where you have all the momentum in the world and you felt like you had the game under control, and one play here or one play there could change the course of a series or change the course of a game.”
So, it’s unlikely James will allow the Lakers to coast into Game 3. An added incentive is that the sooner the Finals are over the faster James can get home to see the $36-million Beverly Hills mansion he bought in person for the first time.
In a normal year it would be tempting to hold off on writing the Heat obituary until the Lakers had flown across the country and won on Miami’s home floor. That’s not a hurdle that needs to be crossed this time around. The Heat have been competitive in both games but have never really threatened James, Davis and the rest of the Lakers. If they don’t figure out how to steal a win in Game 3 Sunday, it’s hard not to think this series will be done after Game 4 on Tuesday.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
