It may be redundant but it is also necessary to address that the Los Angeles Lakers are only one win away from the franchise’s 17th NBA Championship and that LeBron James is a similar distance away from his 4th championship and rendering the “3-6 Mafia” nickname obsolete. But the best thing as someone who loves strategy going into a big game is that there is not very much either side can do differently in Game 5. The differences in success come down to execution rather than scheme during a playoff series that goes beyond 4 games. This is why the upcoming Game 5 that we will see on Friday night should be considered a coin flip more than a coronation.
Anthony Davis is following Jimmy Butler for the rest of this series. Unlike Giannis Antetokounmpo, Davis is calling for the assignment against Butler to slow down the most capable player of the Heat’s offensive attack. With no disrespect to Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro, Butler is their greatest offensive weapon. His combination of power, agility, and basketball IQ was good enough to get good shots against LeBron and the rest of the Lakers but not against Davis.
According to NBA.com’s matchup data, Butler shot 42.5 percent from the field when guarded by Davis. Butler shot 70% in his record-setting Game 3, it seems that whatever the numbers are, guarding him with Davis is the move to go with.
