All Things Basketball (12.15.20)

- Keyontae Johnson - Who can compete with Gonzaga? - LaMelo's first couple of games - Ja Morant looks to build upon ROTY - Did OKC strike gold with Poku & Maledon? - Emergence of THT To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

The Thunder and Lakers have reached an agreement to trade Dennis Schroeder for the 28th pick in this year’s NBA Draft, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA. Danny Green is expected to be apart of this trade as well to match salaries. The Thunder will look to expand this trade to flip Danny Green for more assets. The Detroit Pistons have traded G Bruce Brown to the Brooklyn Nets for F Dzanan Musa and a 2021 second round pick, sources tell ESPN. OKC has traded Chris Paul to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre, Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and draft compensation, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. Milwaukee Bucks have traded Eric Bledsoe, George Hill, and three first round picks to New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday, sources tell @ShamsCharania. Houston Rockets are trading Robert Covington to Portland Trailblazers for Trevor Ariza, 2020 first round pick, and 2021 first round pick, sources tell @wojespn. Milwaukee Bucks are trading Donte Divincenzo, Ersan Ilyasova, and DJ Wilson to Sacaramento for Bogdan Bogdanovic in a sign & trade deal, sources tell @wojespn. Milwaukee’s Wesley Matthews will decline his $2.7M player option for the 2020-21 season and become a free agent, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. With the impending trade of Danny Green. We shall most likely see the Lakers make a strong push to sign Wesley Matthews to fill that role. Avery Bradley is expected to decline his $5M player option with the Lakers and enter free agency, via ESPN. Updated look at OKC Thunder's future draft picks 2020: Nuggets 1st round pick Lakers 1st-rd pick 2021: Own 1st Heat 1st HOU pick-swap 2022: Own 1st Clips 1st Suns 1st 2023: Own 1st Clips pick-swap Heat 1st 2024: Own 1st Clips 1st HOU 1st 2026: Own 1st Clips 1st HOU 1st The Hawks are in talks with the Celtics about acquiring Gordon Hayward. I do not know how the numbers get to matchup with the lack of big contracts on the books of the Hawks to match Hayward’s $32 million contract. They would have to combine Capela, Dedmon, and few young pieces to make it work and I do not know who if it is worth the Hawks to gut their future to win now. Russell Westbrook wants out of Houston. Where will he end up? Reports are that Westbrook wants to return to his role as the lead guy of an organization. At his age and coming off of an injury, who will be willing to sacrifice for maybe a couple of good years left? There have been reports that the Rockets are in trade talks to trade Westbrook to the Wizards for John Wall. It would be great to watch Westbrook play with Bradley Beal especially with the evolution of Bradley Beal’s game reaching new heights last season as he averaged 30 PPG. Will James Harden get traded? If so, will it be Brooklyn? They have moved up the list for him but it seems that some Nets’ players are reluctant on bringing Harden to Brooklyn. The other teams mentioned have been the Sixers & Heat. The Nets seem to be prepared to throw the “kitchen sink” to the Rockets without including Kyrie or KD. Personally, I would make rather see Harden in Philadelphia with Embiid as the Sixers trade Simmons to Houston. That duo would be one of the best in the league if not the second best behind LeBron and AD. It would be somewhat similar. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

What would be the best landing spot for Jrue Holiday? Will the Lakers get their third star? What should the Laker’s offseason blueprint look like? Who should be the #1 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft? - Anthony Edwards - LaMelo Ball - James Wiseman - Deni Avdija - Tyrese Haliburton To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

The 2019-20 Los Angeles Lakers are the champions of basketball as they win Game 6 of the NBA Finals, 106-93. LeBron James - 4th Championship Danny Green - 3rd Championship J.R. Smith - 3rd Championship JaVale McGee - 3rd Championship Rajon Rondo - 2nd Championship Quinn Cook - 2nd Championship Anthony Davis - 1st Championship KCP - 1st Championship Dwight Howard - 1st Championship Avery Bradley - 1st Championship Dion Waiters - 1st Championship Kyle Kuzma - 1st Championship Alex Caruso - 1st Championship Markieff Morris - 1st Championship Jared Dudley - 1st Championship TCT - 1st Championship Kostas Antetokounmpo - 1st Championship

1Q: I don’t understand the Lakers staring down Dwight in the post. Miami is going to take that every time. KCP has been huge early with his dribble penetration and threes. Miami hasn't been as disciplined with the help and the closeouts. The threat of Duncan Robinson shooting is opening things up for Miami. Bam being aggressive offensively is huge for Miami. If he's able to score 1v1, especially vs. LA's smaller lineups, that helps Miami sustain offensively. The Lakers hold a 27-22 lead after the 1st Q, despite committing 7 turnovers to Miami’s 4. They made up for it at the 3-point line, hitting 4 of 5, and on the glass, with an 11-6 edge. 2Q: Miami's defense at times has been a coach's shell drill dream. Lakers have not figured out how to penetrate Miami's help defense. Since they've adjusted to selling out to take away the paint, Lakers have been very perimeter based. One of those halves where both teams probably feel ok. Lakers haven't played well but are still winning. Miami not shooting well from deep but have bothered AD. One big thing I've noticed from the Anthony Davis doubles. Miami is forcing him to his left (or middle), towards the help, and then hitting him then. Impacting the face up game, getting a double team but not opening everything up. Miami’s defense, especially in fronting the post, has bothered LAL considerably towards several of their 9 turnovers, but the Heat have converted those TO’s into only 6 points, matching LAL’s 6 points off MIA’s 5 turnovers. Miami showing a wall vs. LeBron in transition ala Giannis. Dribble penetration going to be so key for the Lakers with how Miami is defending. Has to be patience but with tempo and attack. LAL take a 49-47 lead into halftime despite not playing their best basketball, shooting 45% from the field, only getting to the FT line 3 times and turning it over 9 times. They held MIA to 42% FG’s and 4 of 15 3’s while hitting 7 of 16 3’s on the other end. 3Q: Lakers go small to start the 2nd half, with Morris in for Howard. This is the lineup the Lakers used effectively against Houston in Round 2. LAL have been out of rhythm offensively here. Have to hand it to the Lakers. They haven't played well and they are staying in the fight even if it's in the mud. LeBron in P&R attacking Robinson/Herro continues to be a pressure point. Lakers switching to having Anthony Davis go under those screens with Jimmy Butler handling has been a big difference. The other thing is LeBron on Bam. Allows LeBron to be a helper on the weak side. Can stay in a drop if Jimmy is in P&R. It’s been very interesting the impact Miami has had on the LeBron/AD P&R as they haven’t allowed for LAL to get much out of it. Davis is doing a great job making his presence felt on Butler at the rim here. He wasn’t able to do that as much in Game 3 due in part to the foul trouble. LAL up 75-70 heading into the 4th Q. 4Q: Going under vs Jimmy Butler has been so big. Not giving him the matchups. Miami has to find a way to create an advantage out of the Lakers playing so far back. This is where Herro, Robinson and co. are going to have to step up. With LA going under vs. Jimmy Butler in P&R, they have to take advantage the other way around. Lakers haven't had an answer for Jimmy coming off P&R on the side. Miami hasn't had an answer for LeBron coming off in P&R vs. Robinson. This is excellent from both teams. Lakers getting the second chances. Miami running offense through Tyler Herro with 4 minutes left in the Finals is wild. Kudos to Vogel and the Lakers, with everything they have and what they had working, they put Rondo in P&R with Anthony Davis and got two key buckets out of it. Lakers win Game 4, 102-96.

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. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

Lakers/Heat 1Q - Lakers only have two fast break points but they are getting early offense if not a transition bucket. Dwight Howard with six early points. His verticality is helping the Lakers break down the Heat even when matched up with Leonard. They're just so much more physical than the Heat. You just have no chance defensively against LeBron with the Robinson-Herro-Leonard trio. LeBron + AD picking apart Miami’s zone here with interior passing. Miami is playing this zone to spread out by trying to takeaway three. This won't be much of a game too much longer if they don't start to protect the paint. LAL took a 29-23 lead out of the 1st Q. They generated good looks inside and out, and shot 52% from the field despite missing a bunch of open 3’s (3 for 12), while MIA shot 41% on tougher looks. 2Q - Miami needed to do a way better job in these mins where LeBron is off the floor, unlike last game. That they did as it is just a four point game. Hell of an effort by Miami which never stops moving and screening on offense. Butler’s basically driving everything that happens within Miami’s offense to begin with. Jae just keeps plugging away. Fighting hard at the top of the zone and also making plays on the offensive end. Lakers defenders have to make a ton of decisions every possession. Lakers are getting completely wide open 3’s as Miami sells out to try and protect the paint. They have still found way to get to the rim, and are 10 for 13 in the paint. Meanwhile, they’ve allowed MIA only 7 attempts (4 makes) in their paint. Beautiful offense from the Lakers utilizing pass fakes against the zone. LAL held a 68-54 halftime lead. As much as MIA sold out to prevent interior scoring, LAL still outscored them 30-18 in the paint. No team has been able to keep LeBron and AD specifically away from the rim. 3Q - Gonna be tough for Miami if Anthony Davis can keep hitting those midrange shots at the baseline. Without Bam, the Lakers are getting whatever they want inside. Davis is utterly dominant. Heat are playing hard but this is just steady, incremental accumulation of one team being better than another. Heat found some offensive traction using Butler as the roll man, to take advantage of that switching defense. Miami found success hitting the roll man against the Lakers' screen coverage might force an adjustment or two. LAL led 103-93 after 3. Miami’s using Frank Vogel’s pre Game 1 key, the FT line, to hang around. As they were a +15. 4Q - The Lakers' switching has taken away many of their usual actions. Best offense has been Butler getting downhill. It’s cool seeing all the ways Tyler Herro has learned from Goran Dragic offensively. The ball-screen craft, the probing in lane to keep his dribble alive, attempting audacious finishes at the rim. Since the Lakers always defend and score inside, they can live with the odd off shooting night from KCP and Green. Rondo has hit some MONSTER shots this postseason. There was another one. Just some pretty terrible offense in the 4th. Miami's had plenty of chances to get this closer. Not getting quality looks. Big closeout here by LeBron, not quite Game 5 WCF vibes but he's hitting some big shots. Lakers fight off the Heat to win Game 2 by a score of 124-114 to take a 2-0 series lead. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

- Doc Rivers and the Philadelphia 76ers have reached an agreement for him to become the franchise's next head coach. - My breakdown of Game 1 of the NBA Finals. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

And Here. We. Are. after all of the uncertainty of there being a restart to the NBA, if the players were going to continue playing after the Bucks decided to not play and the NBA taking a few days off before resuming the season once again; it is time for the NBA Finals. The Lakers, owners of the Western Conference's No. 1 seed and seeking out an NBA-best 17th championship, will face the Miami Heat, a No. 5 seed on a Cinderella run to the Finals after several years out of contention. These playoffs couldn't be ending any better. It almost feels like March Madness. The Lakers may be entering the series as heavy favorites, but the Heat have been the lower seed in each series and won since the playoffs began. They won't back down against anyone. This marks LeBron James’ 10th Finals appearance and first with the Lakers, who last played for the championship with Kobe Bryant in 2010. It is the Heat’s first Finals appearance since 2014, when LeBron James led them to the last of four straight title shots. The Lakers won both regular-season meetings between the teams — 95-80 in early November and 113-110 in mid-December —neither were representative of this version of the Heat. Miami was still starting Kendrick Nunn and Meyers Leonard, neither of whom cracked the rotation in the conference finals. The Heat had also not acquired Crowder and Iguodala. Also, neither Herro nor Robinson were playing at the level they are now. What we do know is that LeBron James & Anthony Davis completely outplayed Jimmy Butler & Bam Adebayo in their two regular season matchups. For Miami to have a chance in this series, this cannot be the case unless they get superhero like play from the likes of Dragic & Herro. Matchups to watch: Anthony Davis vs. Bam Adebayo LeBron James vs. Jimmy Butler What I will be watching: How will Miami decide to guard the Lakers in this series? They have used different game plans defensively in all three series and were able to execute. The first key for the Heat will be to shrink the floor vs. Lakers similar what we saw the Nuggets do. Shutting down the LeBron-Davis PnR will be priority number one. They were only able to generate 0.9 points per direct possession in the regular season, according to Second Spectrum. Another way Miami can negate the Lakers’ offense will be their switching scheme which will take away some of the off ball actions. This will find Adebayo guarding on the perimeter at times which will level the Heat susceptible to offensive rebounds as Howard/Davis will be attack the glass. It will be imperative for Miami to rebound well as a team. What Miami is effectively able to do better than any other team is run a zone and the Lakers offense has experienced a drop off when going against the zone. Lakers’ shooting - It is known that the Miami Heat are one of the best shooting teams in the league while the Lakers rank towards the bottom. This puts a lot of pressure on the likes of Danny Green, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and Kyle Kuzma to hit shots from the perimeter. One of the keys to breaking Miami's zone is consistently shooting the 3. That responsibility falls on more than just one player, which is why Green, Caldwell-Pope and Kuzma are all being highlighted. They are shooting a combined 36% from 3 and 39% on C&S 3s. If this trio is knocking down the 3-ball, it'll certainly open things up for James and Davis inside. Prediction: Lakers in 6 Games To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4

Doc Rivers has been fired as the Clippers’ head coach. The two possible replacements are Ty Lue & Jeff Van Gundy. Victor Oladipo wants out of Indiana. His services would be greatly appreciated in LA with the Lakers/Miami/Phoenix. Heat beat Boston, 125-113. Miami wins series 4-2. Miami found their guys, built their guys up, developed their guys, didn’t just add the top tier talent but the talent that fit right into what they do. Erik Spoelstra gets the most out of his players. Puts them in the best spots to succeed. Adapts to his teams strengths and weaknesses. To become a monthly supporter of the Back Em' Down podcast, click this link: anchor.fm/cody-johnson4