Lauri was a better player than Niang then and is a better player now. LeVert, who was also on those teams both seasons, had 5 turnovers and 16 points on meh shooting despite Spo tilting the entire defense towards Garland. We went out and traded for LeVert, flawed as he is, because the Cavs had no answer once opposing teams starting doubling Garland two seasons ago. This is not a new problem.
Despite being defended that way, which Garland's critics never bother questioning why the opposing team does, Garland had 9 assists, a single turnover, and 20 points.
You want to talk Brunson, go watch what happened to the Knicks in the playoffs last year when Spo tilted the defense towards him. Their entire offense collapsed. It matters.
We lost this game because we couldn't get stops in the final two minutes. We were winning and we managed to put points on the board. But without Mobley and Wade, the Heat scored on every possession.