The painful lesson LeBron James learned in 2011 with Heat has him on edge in 2020 Finals
FridThe Miami Heat looks to be in a tough spot.
After an 18-point loss in Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Heat now faces the possibility of playing Game 2 on Friday (9 p.m., ABC) without starters Bam Adebayo (neck strain) and Goran Dragic (torn plantar fascia in left foot). Both Adebayo and Dragic are listed as doubtful for Game 2.
But Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said Thursday “we can’t let our guard down at all,” and the Lakers’ on-court leader LeBron James is following those directions.
“I stayed up until about 4, 4:30 in the morning last night breaking down the film individually,” James said Thursday. “Watching the same things that we did throughout the course of the game, seeing ways we were great, seeing ways we were not so great, and a lot of them were things that we can control. We’re playing against an exceptional basketball team, obviously, [well] coached. So we have to continue to understand that coming into Game 2.”
Then as a team, the Lakers gathered to watch Game 1 film Thursday afternoon.
“It was great to get with the guys today earlier and go over the film, and like I said, see things that we can do a lot better, both offensively and defensively,” James said. “They’re going to make adjustments in Game 2, and we need to be ready for that. We can’t come out with the energy that we had in Game 1 and go down 23-10 and expect the same result as we had in Game 1. So we look forward to that challenge.”
The slow start was one of the only things that went wrong for the Lakers in Game 1. Miami built a 23-10 lead to start the game, and Los Angles responded with a sustained 77-32 run to take a 32-point lead with 6:04 remaining in the third quarter.
The Lakers’ All-Star duo of Anthony Davis and James outscored the Heat’s All-Star duo of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler 59-31. Davis and James also combined for 22 rebounds and 14 assists to six rebounds and five assists for Adebayo and Butler.
The Heat also was beat at what it does best — three-point shooting and getting to the foul line. Los Angeles shot 11 of 17 on threes in the first half and outscored Miami 45-33 from deep, while also finishing with a 25-11 edge at the free-throw line.
“You prepare for whoever is out on the floor,” James said of the possibility of facing a short-handed Heat roster Friday. “There’s going to be five guys in opposing jerseys on the floor, and they’re all dangerous, no matter who’s in the lineup, no matter what the name is. You have to approach it like they all can beat you as a unit, and as individuals they’re on the floor for a reason. We understand that. We will have a game plan, no matter who’s out on the floor.”
Because of a painful lesson James learned in his first season with the Heat, he does not intend to overlook any Finals opponent regardless of the situation. In the 2011 Finals, James and the Heat won Game 1 but went on to waste a big lead in Game 2 on their way to losing the series to the Dallas Mavericks.
“The best teacher in life is experience,” James said. “I’ve experienced moments in my career where you have all the momentum in the world and you felt like you had the game under control, and one play here or one play there could change the course of a series or change the course of a game.
“One in particular that always rings home for me is Game 2 of the 2011 Finals in Miami versus Dallas. D-Wade hits a three right by their bench. I believe it put us up either 13 or 17. From that moment on, Dallas went on a hell of a run and finished it off with a Dirk Nowitzki left-hand layup to steal that game. That [expletive] burns me to this day.”
This story was originally published October 1, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
