NBA Finals Game 3 Breakdown The Perspective

Lakers/Heat

1Q - Miami is competing, but that should be to no surprise for anyone who knows this team. They made it priority to protect the paint and recover from there. Heat picked up right where they left off offensively in Game 2, leveraging the gravity of their shooters as much as possible to create easy baskets. Short closeouts, early help, not putting themselves in a position where they can be beat off the dribble. Living with the kick outs and protecting the paint. This is the complete game plan from Miami defensively. A little past halfway the first quarter mark, the Lakers have more turnovers than shot attempts. This game is mirroring the Game 1 start, when LAL fell behind 23-10 into the first time out because of the sloppy play from the Lakers as the Heat took advantage of the turnovers. LAL had 9 turnovers in Game 2. They have 9 turnovers already with 4:48 left in the 1st Q. LAL’s margin for error is quite high from a talent standpoint especially with Dragic and Bam out. After all that, LAL trail by only 3, at 26-23. A really disappointing end to the 1st quarter for the Heat after their hot start.

2Q - Kuzma gets more opportunities to score/find a rhythm with Davis in foul trouble. Reason for his scoring drop off in the postseason is mostly due to LeBron+AD’s minutes going up, and Rondo’s increased role. The defensive game plan from Miami is eerily similar to the one employed vs. Milwaukee when they went all out to stop Giannis, but this one is solely focused on stopping dribble penetration. The big thing for the Heat in this game has been keeping the Lakers out of the paint so far. LA only has 12 points in the paint, also have only gave up one offensive rebound too. Butler has taken 9 shots in LAL’s paint already, making 6, taking advantage of the absence of Davis against LAL’s lineup with Morris at the 5. As solid as Miami's gameplay and help has been defensively, the doubles still aren't working. LAL trail 58-54 at the half. Credit a resilient effort from Miami, though LAL also hurt themselves with 14 turnovers.

3Q - Miami's offense is making strides. Feels like the Lakers have been in rotation more tonight than in the first two games combined. Short closeouts. Show help. Protect the paint. It's what Miami continued to do all game. Harder for LAL to switch AD over to Butler, as they have selectively in the series, due to his foul trouble. The Lakers defense hadn’t been sharp in this game (it wasn't sharp in game 2 too). The Heat were able to get a lot of great looks on the 2nd pass off of drive and kick actions. LAL closed on a 9-2 run to make it 85-80 heading into the 4th Q. After the last play of the quarter I would expect a heavy dose of LeBron in P&R in the 4th. This feels like a game where the Lakers are going to have to use LeBron to bend Miami's defense. That feels like the one action Miami hasn't felt as comfortable guarding/sending help/showing help. Davis started to pick things up in the 3rd, hitting 4 of 6 FG’s for 10 points.

4Q - LAL open the 4th Q on an 11-4 run, after closing the 3rd on a 9-2 run. That’s 20-6 overall, turning a 12-point deficit into a 91-89 lead. Lakers with just 4 points in the paint about half way through the 4th. 30 overall, the Heat have done a good job defending tonight. Butler got going and the Lakers were giving into the switch just too easily. Miami have turned to Jimmy Butler for isolation scoring down the stretch, with LAL not double-teaming, and it’s been effective enough to maintain their lead. Miami defeats the Lakers 115-104 in Game 3 as LAL’s lead is now 2-1 in the series. Jimmy Butler went off for 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.

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