He looked fine closing out Denver in the 4th.
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He looked fine closing out Denver in the 4th.
Not a LeBron guy I take it?
That is literally the last thing they need to do. They do not need the best player in basketball getting off cruise control. LeBron has played this entire final so far on cruise and still is 25-10-10 basically.
Nuggets news: Jamal Murray reveals injury that bothered him during Game 5 vs. Lakers
He gutted it out.
clutchpoints.com
Didn't even get a double double. In decline.
Just kidding. Lakers are the better team with healthy Miamia starters.
What bugs me, is they don't need any help but they get it anyway.
Maybe Heat needs to make a very large contribution to BLM. (Joking)
He truly is on cruise control. This is the easiest series they have had all playoffs.
And? How does that have anything to do with LeBron scoring 16 points or something in the 4th?
I get what you are saying to an extent, but they have went through their issues along the way.
Bradley opted out to focus on BLM though I have not heard a word about him doing anything (does not mean that he is not doing a lot, but I think using the platform of the NBA to advance issues is much better than sitting out and disappearing, especially when outreach efforts now are limited everywhere except for places like Florida and Indiana).
Rondo, who is clearly their third best player after watching these playoffs, was hurt and had to be reintegrated into the rotation during the playoffs.
AD gets hurt somehow every game almost.
They sucked after beating the Clippers early in the restart. They had to come together and turn it on, which is really, really hard to do.
They went through the hottest player in the NBA (Dame), the best scorer in the NBA (Harden) and the hottest team at that moment (Denver) to get this far. They deserve where they are at and I think it is fine for them to take extra help if it is on the table.
I was thinking about this last night, and wanted your view. But, where would you rank Butler in terms of top NBA players?
I will preface this but saying that I love Butler. His intensity, his fire, his character as a player, off the charts. And, he is excellent. However, in something odd, for a 30 year old guy, I think he could be better if he made some tweaks to his game (really, hunting more shots when he is great areas to score).
The strength of the NBA individually is high at the moment, so when I came up with a list, it was pretty long before I thought Butler clearly should be on it.
Here are the guys that I think are clearly ahead of Butler: LeBron, AD, Kawhi, Luka, Giannis, Harden, Jokic, KD, Steph, Klay and Dame.
This next list of guys that I think Butler clearly belongs on and could actually lead though I would favor a few above him. This list is: Butler, Towns, Tatum, Kyrie, PG, Westbrook, Kemba, Embiid and Beal.
To note, I am sure that I am likely missing someone absolutely excellent and probably even belongs on the first list.
I think that some would argue that Kyrie and Westbrook belong on the first list, but Kyrie has never done much of anything alone leading a team (he has to be a #2 I think though he has the skill and unfortunately mental baggage of a #1) and Westbrook probably is past his insane, off the wall type days.
Add it all together and I think Jimmy is a mid-teens quality player in the NBA. Nothing to sneeze at, but it says a lot about the quality of the Heat as an overall team to make it this far without a headliner or group of them. It is not easy and until they hit this Laker team, they have mostly trucked through teams with better lead guys.
Well said. I think a lot of people (LeBron haters, mostly) will try to discount this ring because the Heat suffered some injuries, but the Lakers have faced some very good teams throughout these playoffs. Nick Wright made this point on twitter - every series the media has talked up the Lakers' opponents as being able to push them and then about three games in they flip the script and say the team stunk. You can only beat the team in front of you and I think with how AD is playing there's no team that would have beat the Lakers. The Clippers had depth on the wing to guard LeBron but nobody to stop AD.
Butler is a very good player and can help make a good team a finals contender (as he's done here or with Philly). I don't think he's good enough to elevate a team by himself. I agree that he's in that big second tier group of very good players.
Butler got the memo. 40 point triple double, responsible for 76 of his team's points. LA switching everything seems like a mistake? Can't you just switch on three or four guys, fight over to stay on Butler?
Butler was unstoppable last night. And the Lakers came out flat as hell. I think a gentleman's sweep is likely. I can't see Butler going off that much and the Lakers looking that flat again.
He sure made me eat my words that he's just a tier two dude.
Miami has had Dragic and Adebayo for less than 1 game of the 3. Should be interesting if they both are ready for the next game; the Heat know they can play with the Lakers.
Nothing NBA defenses have done have really worked against PNR. Basically over 20 years the pick and roll strategy has evolved from fight over screens to slide under screens to trap or ice screens to switching everything. And each has a fatal flaw. I'm not complaining but it's definitely the offensive players' game now.
Lakers with a very high level of defensive intensity early on tonight but Jimmy Butler is still out there with his old man at the Y game. Looking to be a good one tonight.
What a huge 3 by AD. LeBron played like a beast too getting to the line like three possessions in a row.
What a hard fought end to the game.
What a hard fought end to the game.
Butler has been very impressive. He took his game up a notch in the Finals. The second half should go down to the wire.
Just wanted to express my appreciation to everyone who has posted in this thread during the NBA playoffs. The comments and discussion have made the entire event all that much more enjoyable.
Butler played a great, great game. Really willing his team hard in this series.
I confess that I'm rooting hard against the Lakers but completely respect how great LeBron is, even at this point in his career.
Speaking of insight, is there a better team of in-game analysts than Mark Jackson and Jeff VanGundy? As someone who only watches the NBA during the playoffs, I find their comments to be extremely helpful in making sense of the strategic moves of both teams. Plus they are very entertaining and have a sense of humor. Jeff’s comment in game 4, when Lebron was conferring with a Lakers assistant after having an issue with turnovers, “You know what he is telling him? We are in gold,” was priceless.
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Hell of a game. Lebron & Butler both were tremendous. I’m sure some of the talking heads will criticize LeBron for making the pass on the last play. But he drew in the entire D & got Green a wide-open shot. No one was with in 10 feet of Green. That’s a practice shot that he has to make.
Jordan made similar plays finding guys like Kerr, Paxson Etc to hit winning shots. The only difference is those guys actually made the shot unlike Green. If they missed Jordan wouldn’t get the same criticism LeBron will get.
Jordan made similar plays finding guys like Kerr, Paxson Etc to hit winning shots. The only difference is those guys actually made the shot unlike Green. If they missed Jordan wouldn’t get the same criticism LeBron will get.
LBJ showed just how great he really is with last night’s performance. That was an excellent analysis and comparison to Jordan’s team making the shot. I am to the point where a legitimate argument can be made for both MJ and LBJ as to who is the greatest of all-time.
Yeah the entire defense collapsed on LeBron and he defo the right play. Green has to make that. Morris had tons of time too. He panicked. He had LeBron open.
I think that even if they lose this series, people will highly remember Butler's performance. He has left everything has on the floor during these last two games and will likely do the same come Game 6.
If Davis' injury lingers, this series becomes a toss up. Without him, it is random whether the Laker supporting cast will do enough to support LeBron. LeBron basically did everything last night when Davis was hobbled and they were not good enough for much of the game (the supporting cast).
If Davis' injury lingers, this series becomes a toss up. Without him, it is random whether the Laker supporting cast will do enough to support LeBron. LeBron basically did everything last night when Davis was hobbled and they were not good enough for much of the game (the supporting cast).
