Miami Heat: Surviving a LeBron James closeout game in the NBA Finals

LeBron James is an unstoppable force in the NBA playoffs with the opportunity to close a series out. At least, that is, until the Miami Heat came along.

There’s no more unstoppable force in the NBA than LeBron James in the NBA playoffs with the opportunity to close out a series. Coming into Friday night’s Game 5 against the Miami Heat, James’s teams have won 16 of their last 17 closeout games.

It’s no fluke, either. LeBron James elevates his play in these games to a spectacular level with the opportunity to end another team’s season and either move on in the playoffs or win a championship. This season alone he’s averaging 34.3 points, 12.3 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game in the Los Angeles Lakers’ three closeout games against the Portland Trail Blazers, Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets coming into Game 5.

The Miami Heat are made of tougher stuff. They took on a vintage LeBron closeout game and are one of only a couple of teams to live to tell the tale. James had a spectacular Game 5, scoring 40 points and adding 13 rebounds, seven assists and three steals. James shot 15-of-21 from the field and 6-of-9 from 3-point range.

To take haymakers like the ones James bombed on the Heat from start to finish is an incredible feat. That kind of efficiency is remarkable, even for a player like LeBron James, and surviving a game like that is remarkable.

In order to make it through, they tightened up their rotation, only playing seven players, and Andre Iguodala was the only player who was on the floor for fewer than 28 minutes (he played 20). Bam Adebayo‘s return provided the Miami Heat with a secondary playmaker to help out Jimmy Butler, and as a result they were able to space the floor effectively and get Duncan Robinson cooking from 3-point range.

Robinson scored 26 points, shooting 7-of-13 from long distance and setting an NBA Finals record for 3-pointers made in a game, besting the previous record of six, set by Gary Neil in 2013.

The real story for the Miami Heat in Game 4, however, as it’s been all through the NBA Finals, the playoffs and the regular season, was Jimmy Butler. He played just over 47 minutes in this game, scoring 35 points, adding 12 rebounds, 11 assists, five steals and a block. He shot 11-of-19 from the field and 12-of-12 from the free throw line and even made a 3-pointer.

Jimmy Butler has had an incredible impact on the Heat this season, both on the court and off it. You could be forgiven for thinking that both Butler and the Heat organization were utterly daft for desiring this union last summer, but the proof has been shown. The fit between team and player is unparalleled in the NBA, and thanks to his blood, sweat and tears in Game 5, the Miami Heat have pushed the Los Angeles Lakers to at least six games.

The Miami Heat missed the playoffs last season, and there were no real reasons for optimism coming into this season. As has been the case all too often in Jimmy Butler’s career, he was grossly underestimated all around the NBA, and that won’t happen again.