Los Angeles Lakers: KCP joins the Lakers “Big 3” in Game 4, 4 Lessons

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 06: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat scores over Markieff Morris #88 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter in Game Four of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 6, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLORIDA - OCTOBER 06: Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat scores over Markieff Morris #88 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the second quarter in Game Four of the 2020 NBA Finals at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on October 6, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles Lakers
(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) – Los Angeles Lakers

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was great for the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers showed why in the Finals two superstars are better than one. In an ugly and sloppy affair, LeBron James and Anthony Davis showed out in the second half while Jimmy Butler disappeared. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope started strong and scored two huge baskets to seal a Lakers win. Lake Show Life tries to make sense of this quagmire in Lake Show Life Lessons. 

The Los Angeles Lakers taking over in Game 4 of the NBA Finals just illustrated a neon light message of the true ingredient in winning this series. That message? Two max level stars are better that one. The Lakers stars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis made all of the big plays down the stretch that their team needed.

Miami’s star, Jimmy Butler kept handing the ball to rookie Tyler Herro to make tough shots. When it was time for him to take it to the basket, AD shut down the lane for the night! In a tale of two Winston Salem State University alums, Ronald Agers states Jimmy Butler had to score 40 a night and he does it in Game 3.

On Tuesday night just before Game 4, Stephen A. Smith says we should be grateful that he’s not Kawhi Leonard.

In the first quarter, Jimmy Butler looked like he hadn’t skipped a beat scoring 11 points on the strength of hitting all five shots from the field. Lake Show Life dedicated an entire page to Jimmy Butler in the Game 3 post-game.

In Game 4, he gets a paragraph.

After that, he showed the NBA world that he is not Kawhi Leonard. Leonard would have scored 40, especially after pulling on Superman’s cape saying he’s in trouble the previous game.

Despite making the same turnover-riddled mistakes that almost made this a Game 3 sequel, the Los Angeles Lakers survived Game 4 beating the Miami Heat 102-96 after a huge fourth quarter from an unlikely source. The Lakers now lead the series 3-1 and can close this series out in time for Corn Flakes on the weekend.

Lake Show Life fun facts:

  • On Friday, if the Lakers are ahead by the end of the third quarter, the staff is going to start the party early. They just don’t lose. The Lake Show improved to an absurd 56-0 this season combining the regular and postseason when entering the fourth quarter with a lead.
  • The 2018 Cavs were the 4th best team in NBA history when leading after three quarters, at 50-1.
  • Which means skipping last year, LeBron’s last 2 successful NBA Finals runs, his teams are an impossible 106-1 when leading after the 3rd quarter.

For the second straight game, early turnovers were killing the Lakers in the first half.  For the second game, LeBron James was the main culprit of those issues. James had more turnovers (5) than field goals (3) in the first half. Throw in Bam Adebayo taking the ball to the basket with aggression with Butler, the Lakers were fouling and sending the Heat to the line.

Some of it was the referees with questionable calls, most of it was the Lakers were just soft and spent most of the first two quarters crying over calls (Look if Alex Caruso gets a technical foul, this should give you a prime example of the frustration!).

This game took us all back to the 1990s when scoring was not a premium and physical basketball was evident. This was not a game for the casual NBA fan or LeBron fanatic.  Only true basketball fans could survive a game like this without clawing their eyes out.

For the first time in this series, it was evident that both teams made crucial adjustments. This really was a full 48-minute battle. The difference was the Lakers got timely shots late from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Rajon Rondo.

Then when Rondo found Davis for a 3 pointer from the left-wing, the only thing you could hear was AD and LeBron James screaming their heads off. Both knew it’s about time to start gassing up the team plane for the West Coast.

The Lakers can close out the series on Friday. If the Lakers win it will be the fourth series they’ve won in five games (Aka Gentlemen’s Sweep!) this postseason.

To the new Los Angeles Lakers fans that are checking us out for the first time, welcome to Lake Show Life Lessons. An extended post-game report with video analysis that will cover the entire NBA Finals!

Over the next several pages we will provide highlights of certain players and coaches. Afterward, the comment section is loaded with knowledgeable fans adding their basketball knowledge. We usually start with the stars.

 Which one? Let’s get to Lesson One and find out!