Miami Heat (44-29) vs. Los Angeles Lakers (52-19)

Both these stellar teams will compete for the Larry O’Brien Trophy as the NBA Champion.

How they got here,

The East’s No.5 seeded Heat defeated the No.3 seed Celtics in the Conference Finals, 4 games to 2

The No.1 seeded Lakers in the West defeated the No.3 seeded Denver Nuggets, 4-1

TV, All games on ABC

Tonight, Game 1, 8 CT

Friday,Oct. 2, Game 2, 8 PM CT

Sunday, Oct. 4, Game 3, 6:30 PM CT

Tuesday, Oct. 6, Game 4,, 8 PM CT

Friday, Oct.9, Game 5 if necessary, 8 PM CT

Sunday, Oct. 11, Game 6 if necessary, 6:30 PM CT

Tuesday, Oct. 13, Game 7, if necessary, 8 PM CT

Prediction

It’s hard to go against 36 year old LeBron James and 27 year old Anthony Davis. In 15 playoff games, Davis has averaged 28.8 points and 9.3 rebounds. James has averaged 26.7 points 10.3 rebounds and 8.9 assists. In the close out game against the Nuggets Saturday Night, James went for 38, 16 and 10 assists. So that’s a dynamic and powerhouse duo the Heat have to deal with.

But I like them to do just that. Thirty one year old Jimmy “Buckets,” Butler has averaged 20.7 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists. He’s one of the top 6 or 7 players in the NBA and a 5 time All Star and 4 time NBA All Defensive Team honoree and that’s pretty strong considering he was a 2 star recruit out of high school In Houston and went to Tyler Junior College in Texas before becoming a star at Marquette. He’s tough, he’s a leader and he is exceptionally clutch as the Celtics series would attest to. He converted big shot after big shot in crunch time against the Celtics, which looked unbeatable going into the series. The Heat also knocked off the No.1 seeded overall Milwaukee Bucks in round 2.

Goran Dragic is a spectacular point guard at 33. He’s averaged 20.9 points and 4.7 assists and is another phenomenal leader for this electric team. And then there are the young guys from Kentucky. Twenty three year old center Bam Adebayo is a force in his 3rd season out of UK. He’s averaged 18.5 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists. He’s shooting 57% from the field. He’s a phenom in his third season at 6’9”, 255. And there’s 20 year old rookie shooting guard Tyler Herro, who is a beyond terrific marksman. I had picked the Celtics to win it all in my pre-playoff predictions and Herro was killing me. He is averaging 16.5 points on 46% shooting from the field, 38% shooting from trifecter, and 90% from the stripe. Herro can really play the game. Davis is a former Kentucky player too and led them to their only National Championship under John Calipari in 2012 as a freshman. and he was the first pick in the 2012 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. He’s a phenom as are Adebayo and Herro. It’s amazing Calipari hasn’t won more national championships with the talent he’s gotten there.

The Heat can hang with the Lakers in rebounding, and they shoot it better. They’ve shot it better than any other team in the league in the postseason and Butler and Adebayo are elite defenders.

So give me the Heat. I’ll take’em in 7.

MVP of Finals: Butler