My 3 favorite details from the first 3 games of the NBA Finals: LeBron carves up the zone and more

Welcome to the latest edition of “My Three Favorite Details,” a weekly video series in which I usually go over the three plays or moments from the previous week of Lakers games that jumped off the screen to me, with one play highlighting elite movement mechanics and technique, one highlighting physical attributes (speed, power, balance, agility, etc), and one highlighting mental skills (awareness, anticipation, reading of the game).

Today’s video encompasses the first three games of the Lakers’ series against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. These were some of my favorite things that I noticed:

So there you have it. Rajon Rondo showcasing fluid, balanced and compact mechanics on his 3-point shot that underlie his emergence as the top percentage three-point shooter for the team while in the bubble, LeBron James picking apart the Heat’s zone with his positional awareness and reading the game two steps ahead to create an easy dunk for Anthony Davis, and lastly, LeBron — again — displaying incredible physical tools while helping in defensive transition on a Jimmy Butler drive to cut off both his shooting and passing options to force a turnover and immediately get into transition going the other way.

That’s it for this edition of my three favorite details, but I’m going to be doing these here and on my YouTube channel on a weekly basis throughout the Lakers’ current run. If you see something you think should be included during the week, tweet it at me at @3cbPerformance, or let me know if there was anything you loved from last week in the comments below.

Dr. Rajpal Brar has a doctorate in physical therapy from Northern Arizona University, and runs his own sports medicine and performance business, 3CB Performance, in West Los Angeles and Valencia, CA along with providing online consultation services. He also works at a hospital — giving him experience with patients in the immediate healthcare setting and neurological patients (post stroke, post brain injury) — and has been practicing for over three years. Dr. Brar is additionally training at UCLA’s mindful awareness research center (MARC), and analyzes the Lakers from a medical perspective for Silver Screen and Roll and Laker Film Room.