With two days off before the NBA Finals resume 9 p.m. Friday, there is plenty of time to break down the analytics between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers.
Or you could merely simplify the series to its core with a single case study, with Lakers forward Anthony Davis standing as the ultimate barometer.
The first two games were all about Davis' offense, with 34 and 32 points, respectively, in pushing the Lakers to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series at Disney's Wide World of Sports complex. Then came foul trouble, a pedestrian 15-point effort, and a Lakers Game 3 loss.
But Tuesday, in Game 4, Davis flipped the script, stepping up on the defensive end, including taking the man-to-man challenge against Jimmy Butler, as the Lakers moved within one victory of the 2020 championship.
"That's why he's the Defensive Player of the Year," teammate LeBron James said of the award that actually went to Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. "We said that all year _ his ability to play one through five, guard anybody on the floor, take the challenge, not only guard on the perimeter, continue to protect the paint. Guards drive on him. It's hard to score on him.
"You see how high (Tyler) Herro threw that ball up? It went in, but he had to throw that thing up to the skyscrapers, right? That guy can do everything defensively. Guarding the ball, guard the post, slide his feet with guards, contest, can body up with bigs. I mean, need I say more?"
Actually, it was Davis who spoke up, insisting on defensive first crack on Butler after Butler scored 40 in Game 3.
"Coming in with the mindset of knowing what he just did to us Game 3, very easy for him, the floor was very open, he got what he wanted," Davis said. "And me coming in, knowing that I was guarding him, I just wanted to take all that away and just make it difficult for him."
While Butler closed with 22 points in Game 4 on 8-of-17 shooting, it was a night the Heat needed more, with guard Goran Dragic missing his third consecutive game with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot.
"We're continuing to grow our understanding of the Miami Heat and their offensive system, which is very, very complicated and difficult to guard," Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. "Each game we tweak the scheme a little bit and get a little stronger with what we are doing on that end and what we are trying to take away."
The next step for the Heat could be getting Butler on the move, so Davis will be on the move, perhaps creating enough fatigue that Davis won't be able to load up on the type of late 3-pointer that proved to be Tuesday night's dagger.
"We have to try to help him a little bit more," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said of Butler, "create a little bit more space for him."
Just as Herro converted his high-arching floater over Davis, Butler said he, too, may have to reach new heights against Davis.
"Whoever they put on me," Butler said, "I got to do a better job of making sure we win, no matter if it's AD or anybody else that they have on their roster."
