It’s looking more and more likely that the Los Angeles Lakers will be the 2020 NBA champions after another convincing win in game 2 against the Miami Heat on Saturday. Let’s dive into Game 3 and see if we can find some winners.
NBA Finals Game 3 Preview & Tips
Los Angeles Lakers
It was a touch of dejavu for the Lakers as Lebron James and Anthony Davis did all the damage in a 124-114 victory over a depleted Miami team. As many predicted, the loss of Bam Adebayo opened the door for Davis to have it all his own way throughout the match. The Lakers All-Star finished with a monster 32 points and 14 rebounds with Miami’s size disadvantage well and truly evident.
Lebron James just keeps defying his age with another near triple-double (33pts 9reb 9ast). The future Hall Of Famer is showing why he is considered one of the greatest of all time with incredible all-round performances this NBA Finals and looks a front runner for the Finals MVP.
The Lakers ‘big two’ were complimented perfectly by the rest of the team with Kuzma, Ronda and Caldwell-Pope all scoring in double figures. It looks like the Lakers championship to lose from here and all things being equal I can see them taking an ominous 3-0 lead on Monday with Davis and Lebron continuing to lead from the front.
James Over 9.5 Assists
$2.00
Miami Heat
Well the fairytale is looking like it may be coming to an end for Erik Spoelstra’s team. They were gallant in defeat on Saturday and played some of the best basketball we’ve seen from them this finals in the 2nd half. Unfortunately they just had no answers for the Lakers clinical offence.
Jimmy Butler did his best to carry his injury-riddled team putting up a double-double. He was helped by Tyler Herro (17pts) and Kelly Olynk (24pts 9reb) who were shining lights for Miami. While putting up more of a fight in Game 2 ,Miami never really looked like troubling the Lakers in the end and will be sweating on the fitness of Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic for Game 3.
While the series is looking like it could be a sweep, one thing for sure is that the Heat will not go down without a fight. If they can start shooting the lights out in Game 3 and finding a way to reduce the impact of LA’s big men, we may see a 2-1 scoreline heading to Game 4.
Butler Over 24.5 Points
$1.95
Prediction
While many will be tipping the Lakers to make it 3-0, I can see Miami digging in here, and as a neutral NBA fan, hopefully making a series of it. The fitness of Bam Adebayo will be crucial to the result as we saw his presence was sorely missed in Game 2. With all that being said, I’ll be sticking strong with the Lakers to get the job done again as they take another step towards the championship.
