LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers found a solution to slow down Miami Heat superstar Jimmy Butler in Game 4 of the NBA Finals. The Purple and Gold assigned their best defender, Anthony Davis, to shadow the gritty swingman.

The adjustment certainly paid dividends, as the Lakers took a commanding 3-1 lead in their best-of-seven series with a hard-fought 102-96 win on Tuesday.

Shortly after the game, LeBron praised AD's defensive prowess and claimed he was the rightful winner of the Defensive Player of the Year award in the 2019-20 campaign.

https://twitter.com/hmfaigen/status/1313698864520597505

ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins also echoed the same sentiments on Twitter.

The Heat managed to win Game 3, thanks to Butler's 40-point eruption. But with Davis covering him for the majority of Game 4, he could only muster 22 markers on 8-of-17 from the field and 0-of-3 from past the arc.

The Lakers' defensive adjustment proved to be a game-changer, as they finally found a way to get the ball out of Butler's hands. In the event that Miami elected to switch out, it was the LA's other big, Dwight Howard, who covered Jimmy Buckets.

The Brow certainly made Butler work by making use of his height and length advantage. Most smaller players would use their speed in such scenarios, but that won't work against AD considering he is quite agile for his size.

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Apart from Davis' lockdown D, he also put the finishing touches against the Heat with a gutsy trey that gave LA a 10-point lead with under 40 ticks left in regulation. The seven-time All-Star finished with 22 points, nine boards, four assists, four blocks and one steal in 42 minutes.

LeBron James' sentiments, meanwhile, come from the fact that most pundits believe that Anthony Davis was robbed of the DPOY award this season. The recognition went to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, despite AD being the best defensive player in the league's best defensive team.

The DPOY plum might have eluded Davis this year, but he does have a serious case for Finals MVP if the Lakers can close the series out on Friday.