The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers are heading into game 5 on Friday, October 9th. With a 3-1 lead, the Lakers have the possibility of quickly ending these Finals in 5 games.

As the pandemic put a pause on the world of sports, the NBA decided to postpone the Finals, typically in May and June, to right now, September and October.

Though the postponement is important for everyone’s health, it still comes at a cost for the NBA. The ratings have been at an all time low— the opening game setting a record at 4.1, when the previous low was at 9.21 in 2007.

The low viewership was anticipated considering the plethora of other sports that make their start at this time of the year.

“I was watching the NHL playoff/Finals and [am] always watching MLB, NFL, and College football,” said Philip Peacock, AVHS History teacher.

When students were asked about the NBA Finals, they had similar thoughts.

“I haven’t watched at all because I’m doing fantasy football right now,” said Garrett Emmett (‘22).

That being said, there is a good amount to say about the matchup. This isn’t a rivalry, but LeBron James is against one of his previous teams, with whom he played four seasons and won his first two championships.

James has proven to be an obvious asset for the Lakers, taking them from 10th place to 1st in the Western Conference. 

“[I] was not surprised the Lakers made it and will probably win [the Finals],” said Peacock.

They have a team of big names alongside James, such as Anthony Davis, J.R Smith, and Dwight Howard to name a few, so it’s no surprise that they’ve made it this far.

On the other side, the Heat’s solid defense makes for a tough game against the offense on the Lakers. 

Miami is powered by Jimmy Butler, who has had a bad reputation as a teammate but is apparently a perfect fit with the Heat (the team also has Bam Adebayo, who was unfortunately out for games 2 and 3). 

The key to the Heat’s success is their use of their talented rookies. They’ve also acquired a veteran familiar to the Bay Area, Andre Iguodala, who is always helpful on the court.

The dynamic between each team has differed in the recent season for a variety of reasons, mainly the pandemic that took over the world. The gameplay is interesting to watch per the complete virtual fanbase.

The Heat needs a strong strategy to compete with the Lakers strong skills, but they may be able to turn these Finals around if they do it right.

Having a 3-1 lead doesn’t mean the games are quite over, just take a look at the Warriors in 2016…