LeBron James Dominated Game 3 from the Post


With LeBron James bullying and pounding him on the low block, Paul George never really stood a chance in Game 3. James and the Miami Heat made a concious effort to establish him in the post, and it paid off quitehandsomely. Per NBA.com: “It was something we wanted to get to, to just help settle us and get into a more aggressive attack,’ Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said of the tactic. ‘We wanted to be a little aggressive, a little more committed to getting into the paint and seeing what would happen.’ […] ‘I made a conscious effort to sit down in the post tonight, try to put pressure on the defense,’ James said, his 22-point, four-rebound, three-assist game more monstrous than monster. ‘Spo and the coaching staff wanted me to be down there and my teammates allowed me to do that.’ […] (Paul) George was working so hard defensively, too, that much of his offense went missing (3-for-10 for 13 points, although with eight assists). ‘I mean, I saw I had a 1-on-1 matchup,’ James said. ‘They didn’t come down in the post all game [to help], so I just tried to take advantage of it. My teammates gave me space. … Tried to anchor myself down on the block and go to work.’ […] Center Roy Hibbert tried to shoulder a lot of blame for Indiana’s struggles defensively, noble but not quite accurate. ‘We have to do a better job of helping Paul out,’ he said. ‘LeBron can’t get five or six dribbles to get a post move. They really spread us out, so I wasn’t able to get down there as much.'”