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Following Tuesday's huge win over the Miami Heat in Game 4 of the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers are now just one win away from securing the title. They are undeniably the heavy favorites at this point, but even the Lakers themselves will tell you that the job is not done yet.
L.A. had a tremendous performance as a team against a resilient Heat side, and there are a number of key factors that led to their 102-96 victory in Game 4.
No Easy Buckets for Jimmy
Jimmy Butler had a field day against the Lakers in Game 3, finishing with 40 points on 14-of-20 shooting. L.A. had no answer for him in Game 3, as he willed the Heat to victory.
It was a completely different story in Game 4.
Butler actually started strong in this one, scoring 11 points in the first period alone. At one point, it seemed like the All-Star forward was going to have another offensive explosio. That was until the Lakers made the necessary adjustments on the fly.
L.A. head coach Frank Vogel had a very straightforward game plan for Butler on Tuesday: have Anthony Davis cover him. AD is the Lakers' best defender, and it is only logical that he be tasked with guarding the best offensive weapon on the opposing team. Butler was able to get hot early on, but it was only a matter of time before Davis was able to clamp down on him.
What we learned from Game 3 is that the Heat needed nothing short of an impeccable performance from Butler for the Heat to stand a chance against the mighty Lakers. Davis understood this, and he took it upon himself to prevent the same. AD is one of the best defenders in the league today, and his lockdown effort on Butler in Game 4 is testament to the same.
The Other Guys
Davis had a defensive masterpiece in this one, while LeBron took over down the stretch. However, one cannot undermine the contributions of L.A.'s other players in this ballgame.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was arguably the Lakers' best player on the evening not named James or Davis. KCP finished with 15 points, three rebounds, and five assists. He also knocked down three triples, with one of them coming in a crucial juncture in the final period.
Rajon Rondo scored just two points in this one, but he grabbed seven boards, and dished out five assists. He was a steadying presence for the Lakers coming off the bench, and he too had his fair share of key plays in crunch time.
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The same can be said of Kyle Kuzma, Alex Caruso, Marcus Morris, and even Danny Green. None of them had an individually brilliant performance, but they all came in and did their job as best as they could.
This Finals matchup may have been billed as one dynamic duo going up against another, but clearly, the “other guys” on the team have played a huge role in the series. It has been L.A. who has held the advantage in this regard thus far, and this was evident yet again in Game 4.
LeBron on a Mission
In case you haven't realized it at this point, LeBron James is clearly playing like a man on a mission. He's pretty much done it all already, and at Year 17, he has nothing else to prove. Nevertheless, there's no denying that the 35-year-old remains as hungry as ever. This title means a whole lot to him, and his performance in Game 4 serves as proof.
LeBron did not exactly have a blistering start in this one, and he was actually having a relatively pedestrian outing. That was until crunch time, of course, as LeBron took over when it mattered most.
There were some instances during the game that James looked somewhat fatigued. He settled for a few contested, long-distance treys instead of going strong to the basket. Then came the fourth quarter. The King took his aggressiveness to another level down the stretch, as he led the way for the Lakers in a crucial juncture in the fourth period.
After the Heat had tied the ballgame at 83-83 courtesy of a Butler deuce, James went full throttle to score seven straight points for L.A. He also set up Caldwell-Pope for that crucial triple right in front of Miami's bench, which gave the Lakers a relatively comfortable cushion with the clock winding down.
The biggest indication of LeBron's incessant desire to win this title is the way he celebrated Davis' dagger trey with less than a minute to go. We haven't seen James that animated in a long time, which just goes to show how much this game meant to him.
There's no need to motivate LeBron, because as we've seen for years now, he just remains motivated throughout. With his laser focus on point, the Lakers are now closer than ever to winning the coveted title.
