Los Angeles Lakers Defeat Miami Heat for 2019-2020 Championship

LA Lakers-Miami Heat 4-2: The Lakers were the best team in the league and deserved this championship.  Yes the Bucks had a better record but this was the team we thought would be fighting for the crown come end of the playoffs.  LeBron was amazing during the regular season (led the league in assists) and in the Finals (29/11/8) where he shot 59% overall and 41% from deep.  AD was just as great (25/10/3) on 57% shooting and 42% from deep.  Those two were crazy good.  The Lakers did lose two games thanks to the will of Jimmy Butler but LeBron and AD were too much.  Yes all the roll players are key but when one of those two rested you still had one of the league's best players on the court.  I rooted for Miami but was in awe of how good the Lakers were.  Congratulations to Los Angeles on a well deserved championship.

In the East recent history has shown there are multiple teams who could be there at the end.  Miami made a surprise run to the Finals and gave us the legend of Jimmy Butler who gave his all but it wasn't enough. Still he will always be remembered for his effort against the Lakers.  

 

Great win for the Lakers, LeBron and AD.  Now of course we will naturally look towards the future.  Will AD resign with LA?  Why wouldn't he?  How many more championships can these guys win?  All fun to think about in what will be a short offseason.

Portland Trail Blazers Clinch Playoff Spot

 

Portland defeated Memphis yesterday to clinch the #8 seed in the Western Conference.  It was a great game and a tough one for the Trail Blazers.  C.J. McCollum came up huge in the fourth quarter with 14 points and Portland needed all of them.  Portland was actually up by 16 at one point in the game but trailed for much of the fourth quarter before pulling out the win.  Memphis shot 56% from three.  Part of that was some bad defense but the Grizzlies still had to hit the shots and they did.  Great game from Ja Morant and Jonus Valanciunus and the team played well as a whole.

Portland dealt with a disappointing season prior to the bubble where they went 6-2.  Before the season stopped they had injuries from Nurkic and Collins but both were able to play in Orlando.  They were able to trade for Hassan Whiteside, who had an outstanding season, and signed Carmelo Anthony who has surprised everyone playing both forward spots.  Still they struggled but turned it all around in Orlando.  Damian Lillard took his game to another level this year averaging 30 points and 8 assists per game while shooting 40% from deep.  See his shot from the logo against Brooklyn?   And it's not the first time he's done it.  It is so much fun watching this guy.

Next up for these guys are the Los Angeles Lakers.  I'm stoked.  While Portland shouldn't win this series it sure seems like it could be fun.  Lakers haven't been dominant in the bubble.  Still, they have Anthony Davis and Lebron.  I'm not picking against them but I'm excited for this match up.  As a fan I just hope Portland isn't exhausted after their run to just get into the playoffs.  Still I'm excited to see Portland in and to see more Trail Blazer basketball.  Go Portland!