Yeah, Herro is a great player and has HUGE upside, but he’s still a rookie.
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Lots of old players on the Lakers. We’ll see how they do in game 2. I’m not so sure they can bring it game after game.
Not sure if serious…
Not only has every round of the playoffs had similar spacing with at least one off day between every game, and no travel…and the Lakers have won each series in five games…but they functionally took the fourth quarter off last night (though I was surprised how long LeBron and AD were on the court)…and LeBron and AD are averaging fewer minutes in these playoffs than the regular season so far. Oh, and they had an extra day vs. the Heat for Game 1…and the Heat’s injury issues will presumably require a shorter bench.
So…not sure this is a valid concern.
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Wow, that was some game from Jimmy Butler. Olynyk was pretty amazing too. Duncan sort of meh, but the dagger 3 at the end was sweet.
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" As Jeff Van Gundy often says, great shooters make the best screeners. Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro doing a Splash Brothers impression while someone else holds the ball is stressful. Those guys run hard; Erik Spoelstra has compared Robinson’s route running to Jerry Rice’s. Panic ratchets up when one of them busts out of that jumble to sprint around a pick from Kelly Olynyk – another ace shooter."
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Duncan with two great defensive plays to start the game! Don’t look now, but he’s on the way to becoming a multi-dimensional player.
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Duncan Iso defensive stop on Lebron! Got a poke and forced a turnover…
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When Duncan is on Lebron, my brain cannot believe my eyes…it just does not register!
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Duncan got toasted defending back to back drives against KCP and Rondo respectively in crunch time. Still 17 points in game 4 of the NBA Finals.
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The running kiss off the glass over Anthony Davis really got me.
The winners of the Finals will be the Lakers and Michigan fans.
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Let’s not forget that Rob Pelinka built this Lakers squad!
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I don’t know how much credit he gets for bringing LeBron in but he did enough at least not to deter him from making the decision to move to LA.
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LeBron/Klutch obviously play a hand in some of these moves too, but the Lakers have received quality minutes from guys like KCP, Rondo and Markieff Morris too. Pelinka definitely deserves some credit for building around LeBron and AD, as easy as that task may be.
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It’s a good question. Obviously a guy like KCP can make 5-8 good plays, D up, and wow Pistons fans. When he’s playing next to LeBron and AD. Then again, Pelinka signed the guy for his 1-year deal at the max and now has had him at $8m for the past two years. That’s good work.
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I’m surprised at how good Rondo has fit. Helps when he’s hitting open 3s.
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Lakers fans are too…“Playoff Rondo” has been a real thing. He’s like a different player.
To me this series reminds me of recent Michigan situations - it comes down to the 3pt shot. Miami is throwing every trick in the book at the Lakers and their two superstars. Miami is the superior shooting team. But if the Lakers are going to hit 40% from three and Miami struggles to get DRob and Herro open shots…game over. Rondo is hitting threes, LeBron is hitting them, Davis is hitting them, the bald eagle is hitting them… Without that advantage the only thing Miami has over LA is what…coaching? Bench play?
KCP is there as part of the Klutch crew. The GM of this team is Lebron/Rich Paul. Pelinka is just a suit.
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Good point; that is his agent.