including 3-for-27 shooting outside paintīut the guy still has shot more free throws than all but seven players this season.īutler deserves credit for finding the perfect balance between getting up in James' face and backing off to avoid fouls. Hard to process: LeBron averaging just 19.3 PPG on 39% shooting since his 61-point eruption. Now, James was uncharacteristically reluctant to attack the basket against Chicago and has been for the past few games. (The Spurs did hold him without a free throw attempt in Game 3 of the 2013 Finals.) LeBron James didn't attempt a free throw in today's loss to the Bulls, snapping a 332-game streak with a FT attempt. He and the rest of Chicago's defense did something to James that hadn't been done since his Cleveland days: Kawhi Leonard in a LeBron Stop-Off next ASW. He has cemented himself as one of James' three biggest adversaries on defense: James came within one rebound and two assists of a triple-double on Sunday. He also made just one basket upon re-entering a tied game with 6:33 left in the fourth quarter and one more in overtime, despite taking nine shots. Chicago outscored the Heat 21-14 in that span.īutler's confidence when guarding James is the highest its ever been, and it showed. To him, it's just another day at the office. Still, "limiting" James offensively is the only way to get the upper hand on Miami over an entire series.īutler did quite a job of that on Sunday. It's only happened in the same series twice-by Dallas in the 2011 Finals and San Antonio in last year's Finals. In 67 playoff games with the Heat, James has only been "limited" to 20 points or less on 50 percent or less shooting from the field 11 times, according to. And as heroic as Butler's efforts were on James in last year's playoffs, he'll have to be better. Should that reality come to pass, the Butler-James dynamic jumps to the forefront. John Hollinger's Playoff Odds have Miami taking the top overall seed in the East and the Bulls finishing fourth. Minnesota also won't have centers Rudy Gobert (suspension) or Naz Reid (wrist fracture) for this game, giving James the green light in the paint.But with Miami and the Pacers hitting respective rough patches, and Chicago just two games back of Toronto in the loss column, there's a legitimate chance of another Bulls-Heat playoff series. The Lakers star finished the regular season averaging 30.5 points per game over his last four matchups and he will have a great opportunity to get north of 30 points on Tuesday night against a hobbled Timberwolves club.ĭefensively, James won't have to deal with Jaden McDaniels, who would have been the primary defender on him had he not suffered a broken hand. The stage is set for LeBron James to kick off another playoff run with an exclamation point. The Pick: LeBron James Over 28.5 points (-119).Key Trend: James averaged 30.5 points per game in the final four games of the regular season.Are you ready? Let's dive in on a three-pack of picks for the first two play-in games on the docket.Īll times Eastern, and all odds via Caesars Sportsbook Now, we get to sit back, relax and sweat out from hoops for the rest of the night. It's your friend Tyler Sullivan again and I hope your Tuesday is going swimmingly to this point. We're technically calling this play-in period of the NBA season the playoffs, right? Kind of feels like a gray area, but it's high-stakes basketball and that's all we need to sink our teeth into.
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