YOU talk of warriors pitted in a war and, almost always, one side has superior soldiers over the other.
The coming Laker-Heat match is no exception.
Thus, when they begin their National Basketball Association (NBA) title clash tomorrow, the Lakers aren’t just favored but are heavily favored.
The Lakers aren’t just ahead in personnel but are simply tooled to first-class status that is why they easily topped the West in the regular season, thanks chiefly to LeBron James and Anthony Davis—the league’s lethal duo assembled in 36 months or so.
After James went to Los Angeles in July 2018 on a master stroke by Magic Johnson, Davis joined the Lakers in June 2019 on another made-in-heaven deal by Rob Pelinka. The quiet but shrewd Pelinka snared Davis upon the urging of James himself.
James and Davis had so easily put the Lakers back to the spot they’d been familiar with for so long: No. 1 going to the postseason.
They extended their domination since the NBA restart to post a 15-3 playoffs record on their way to routing Portland, Houston and Denver via 4-1 counts in their cruise to the Finals.
Oh, yes, the Heat are not to be denied, having likewise dished out a rather impressive collection of postseason wins.
Despite a modest No. 5 finish entering the NBA bubble, Miami debuted with a 4-0 blanking of Indiana, mocked Milwaukee next 4-1 and dismissed favored Boston in six.
But Indiana was bereft of a legit star, affording Miami Coach Erik Spoelstra an easy first-round foe.
Milwaukee strayed from focus to go political, walking away from a game for racism issues. That deboned the Bucks, their No. 1 ranking in the East going to tatters. Worst, repeat MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo got felled by an ankle injury midway into the playoffs.
And Boston’s youngsters weren’t ready for the long haul, dragged into an arena awash with sharks.
The pandemic has shooed away fans at Lake Buena Vista, Florida, as the Lakers and the Heat barge into a battle rich in drama and history.
Miami is now led by the still slick-haired Pat Riley, the Heat’s general manager who had coached Los Angeles to NBA championships not too long ago.
And James is now the eminent Los Angeles leader who had given Miami two NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.
At 35, James doesn’t look old—nor does he move old. Stunningly, he brims with the youthful energy of a 25-year-old dynamo, the reason he has 36 triple-doubles already to his three-ring achievements in 10 record Finals appearances.
Who can stop a freight train like James in full throttle?
Bam Adebayo? He’s too thin and too fragile to offer resistance.
Andre Iguodala? He’s seen better days.
James’s stopper is yet to be born. James’s Waterloo is utopia.
Against James, Davis, Rajon Rondo, Danny Green, Dwight Howard, JaVale McGee and, yes, Kyle Kuzma and even Alex Caruso, Miami mainstays Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro become mere toy soldiers with nothing but pseudo skills.
Find pride in the fact that Spoelstra is our own as his mother hails from San Pablo City, Laguna. But the joy ends there. He shares two NBA titles with James against the untitled Laker Coach Frank Vogel.
Change topic.
With James now under Vogel’s wings, Spoelstra needs a phenomenon as huge as the parting of the Red Sea to stop the Lakers from ending their 10-year title drought.
Now, should Miami reach a Game 7—that’d be the miracle.
THAT’S IT For allowing a tournament held in its grounds, Alabang was closed indefinitely by the government in violation of health protocols. The pandemic is no joke, you know.