And The 2020 Champion Is… The LA Lakers
The Lakers won Game 2 and will win the 2020 NBA Finals, giving Lebron his 4th ring. Here is what I think about the matter and this championship run as a whole.
The Lakers won Game 2 and will win the 2020 NBA Finals, giving Lebron his 4th ring. Here is what I think about the matter and this championship run as a whole.
Many people were saying this series would be bad and the Lakers were dominate. While I agreed with them a bit, I didn’t want to jump the gun and again count out this Heat team. But after watching both Game 1 and Game 2, it is clear this series is over. Not because the Heat suck, not because of the Lakers getting breaks. No, the Lakers are the better team and they are showing us all why.
This of course means that Lebron gets his 4th ring and the Lakers win the first and maybe only ‘Bubble Championship.’ What does this do for Lebron’s legacy.
Lebron has said throughout this bubble that this is the hardest championship that he’s ever won, and I agree with him to an extent. The circumstances he and the Lakers are playing in have never been done before, and I can understand that. Limited family, isolated, it can be tough. But that’s where I stop agreeing with King James.
In terms to competition, this ring hasn’t been that impressive. They played the Blazers, who were supposed to upset the Lakers. But take a look back at this team and how were they supposed to win?
Damian Lillard: Hottest player in the bubble, playing 40+ minutes per night for past two weeks. Injured finger and knee in series.
CJ McCollum: Playing with a broken bone in his back
Jusuf Nurkic: First time playing basketball since March 2019
Carmelo Anthony: First time playing that many minutes in a long time
Gary Trent: No real experience
So the Lakers beatdown a Blazers team that really overperformed.
Next they faced the small ball Houston Rockets in a very interesting matchup. After getting blown out in Game 1, the Lakers came back with a gameplan. They let Russell Westbrook shoot and doubled James Harden. This worked and the Lakers exposed the Rockets for 4 straight games. And in the final two games, the Lakers were essentially beating a dead body as the Rockets lost all their energy and will.
And in the Western Conference Finals they faced the very resilient Nuggets team. This team had come back from two 3-1 deficits already in the playoffs and they would prove to be the Lakers toughest matchup. Although the series ended 4-1 in favor of the Nuggets, the games were very competitive and close. But the Lakers still won the series 4-1, and they headed to the Finals without much of a scare.
And now they’re beating the Heat, which they should do in 4 games. So while I get what Lebron is saying, this has not been his hardest ring in terms of competition.
And because of that, I don’t think this is one of Lebron’s more impressive rings. I think this is a bit above 2012 but not by a whole much. I don’t think this puts Lebron on the same level as MJ, but it certainly puts him a tad bit closer. I think if Lebron had another 2016 or 2013 Finals win, I would LBJ closer to the GOAT.
So while this championship hasn’t been the most impressive thing in the world, it does not take away from how dominant the Lakers have been. They started off in the bubble rough with terrible shooting performances and AD scoring 8 points. Yeah, that was a real thing believe it or not. I was thinking that there was no way that that the Lakers would win this championship, and I was wrong.
I thought that they would need a reliable 3rd scorer to really make them dangerous, but they have been getting solid games from almost everybody who plays decent minutes. Without these key contributions, none of this would have ever been possible. The Lakers defense has adjusted to all the teams they’ve faced, from Damian Lillard and the Blazers to Jamal Murray and the Nuggets.
So I think that the Lakers definitely were the best team in the bubble, and it wasn’t even close. As hard as that is to admit for people like me, it’s just true. While I don’t think that the ring does much of anything for Lebron James’ case for the GOAT, this was pretty impressive and will be likely never replicated.
What Are Your Thoughts On The Lakers’ 2020 NBA Title? Leave A Comment Down Below!
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