LA Lakers vs Miami Heat Game 4 – Wednesday October 7
The Lakers and Heat collide for Game 4 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday at 12pm (all times AEdT), with LA currently leading the series 2-1.
Frank Vogel’s team were nothing short of dominant in the opening two games behind the lead of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, blowing the Heat out in both contests as it appeared we were heading for a short series.
Injuries to Goran Dragic and Bam Adebayo, arguably the Heat’s best two players in the playoffs, made the unlikely seem impossible and caused Erik Spoelstra to rejig his rotation.
But Game 3 was a much different story, largely due to the veteran leadership of Miami star Jimmy Butler. Butler was playing at a higher level to anyone else on the floor, including LeBron James himself. Anthony Davis got in foul trouble early and when he returned struggled to get going.
Butler tallied a remarkable 40 points on 14-of-20 shooting, 11 rebounds, 13 assists, two steals and two blocks to lead Miami to their first win of the series. The rest of the Heat team played with an intensity we hadn’t yet seen and it was the first time they looked like they legitimately thought they could beat the Lakers.
It sets up an intriguing Game 4 which the Heat must win to stay in this series, but beware of LeBron. The three-time champion stormed off the court in Game 3 with 10 seconds to go and headed straight for the locker room.
The King is not happy and we’ve seen him get in these moods before where he comes out the next game and is unstoppable. You would expect LeBron and Davis to bounce back from subpar performances by their standards in Game 4, but who else can stand up for Miami?
Butler was enormous in Game 3 and it is a big ask for him to replicate something even close to that performance. Assuming Adebayo and Dragic miss again, Miami will need the likes of Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jae Crowder and Kelly Olynyk to really step up.
We know that the Heat are a great team but matching the star power of LA’s star duo will be necessary for them to even up this series.
Tip: Lakers to win @ $1.33.
