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Around the World (Wide Web): Lakers/Heat Story Lines

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From Kevin Arnovitz, Heat Index: Bad news for the Heat: When the Lakers are fully healthy (read: Andrew Bynum), they execute the brand of pressure, ball-side defense that both Boston and Chicago deploy and that gives the Heat fits. Over the past five games, the Lakers have allowed only 94.6 points per 100 possessions. That’s astounding, particularly when you consider that stretch included both Oklahoma City and San Antonio. On Tuesday night, 50 of Atlanta’s 83 shot attempts came from 16 feet and beyond and it’s not like the Hawks were living at the line. Atlanta couldn’t poke the ball inside — neither on penetration nor by feeding the post. Right now, the Lakers’ traps have that old zip, while Bynum, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are moving with purpose — dropping back on pick-and-rolls to prevent the drive, and walling off the paint when the ball moves to the sideline. Meanwhile, Kobe Bryant seems locked in, while Ron Artest has finally gotten the message that his presence on the wing is vital to what the Lakers do. The Heat have been too easily lured into long jump shots against pressure defenses, a potential hazard that could be compounded by that ol’ Lakers length.

From Ramona Shelbourne, ESPNLA: His story is too familiar. His team has neither shocked nor awed us. And so another player will likely be honored as the NBA’s Most Valuable Player while Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest player of his generation, is left to stew privately and console himself with remembrances of how much better it feels to win these types of awards in June. A player with a better story, such as Chicago’s Derrick Rose. A player whose team has shocked us, such as the Knicks’ Amare Stoudemire. A player who can’t help but inspire awe, such as Miami’s LeBron James. The MVP award is voted on by people who tell stories for a living. Basketball writers who look for drama and conflict in the games and people they cover.

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: The Lakers understand Miami’s pain. They felt it a few weeks ago. The Miami Heat has washed up on the South Beach shores, an icky mess that now gets the same reaction around here as finding a fly in an $18 mojito. The Heat’s morose postgame interviews are “SportsCenter” fodder almost nightly, with perennial All-Stars and their boyish-looking coach appearing gravely ill on daises across the country while trying to explain a five-game losing streak. What’s wrong with the Heat? The Lakers, Miami’s opponent Thursday, might have a few answers.

From Mike Trudell, Basketblog: On Thursday night in Miami, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers will be looking to build on their best stretch of basketball, particularly on defense, of the season that has produced an NBA-best 8-0 record since the All-Star break. Prior to L.A.’s practice on Wednesday afternoon at Miami’s American Airlines Arena, many of the questions directed towards the Lakers dealt more with the Heat’s recent struggles that L.A.’s recent success, with Miami dropping five consecutive games to fall two games behind Los Angeles in the loss column. Bryant acknowledged that it’s “always tough” to go through such streaks, especially under a microscope, then explained how the Lakers have dealt with such dry spells.

From Dan Le Batard, Miami Herald: Here’s the résumé of an anonymous basketball team this year: Lost by 20 points at Charlotte. Lost by 19 at home to Memphis, after which the coach publicly ripped his star. Lost by 19 at home to Milwaukee. Lost four games in a row to ho-hum Houston, Memphis, Indiana and Utah. Lost on the road to godforsaken Cleveland. Lost at home to dreadful Sacramento, after which one of the starters reportedly wanted to be traded. The mutinous Detroit Pistons? No, the champion Los Angeles Lakers. Why did any of that happen? No idea. Haven’t heard a valid explanation from Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson or anyone else. To suggest that they are pacing themselves with veteran savvy and rather randomly decided that now is winning time conveniently ignores that the Lakers lost to discombobulated Orlando three games before winning time, lost to 26-37 Charlotte two games before winning time and lost to 12-51 Cleveland one game before winning time (this after beating Cleveland by 55 points a month before choosing this as winning time).

Fro Howard Beck, NY Times: The line between empathy and sympathy is subtle but significant, and for about a half hour on Wednesday the Los Angeles Lakers lived in the hazy space between the two. No other N.B.A. team could relate so well to the plight of the Miami Heat. The Lakers know the burden of stratospheric expectations and the powerful consequences of failure, even short-term failure. They have lived this drama themselves many times. But after five minutes of questions about the Heat’s hardships — the blown leads, the five-game losing streak, the merciless scrutiny — Kobe Bryant was done playing sideline psychiatrist. “It takes a little adjusting, I guess,” Bryant said of the bull’s-eye on LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. “I don’t know, I’m still trying to kill people.”


Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Mimsy says

    Also, I thought MacMenamin wrote a very good comparison between the Lakers and the Heat. Now granted, he is biased in favor of the Lakers, but his overall point–the purple and gold squad has been to war together before, but the Heat hasn’t–is one that I haven’t seen a lot of other writers bring up before. I might have been reading the wrong ones though… I try avoid OD’ing on Heat hype-coverage. 🙂

    http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=6200443

  4. kwame a. says

    Odom gets lumped in as a 7 footer when media tries to make us into goliath…Odom is not a 7 footer!

    Anyway- Kobe definitely should be in top 3 mix for MVP…but wont be, and who cares in the end, the respect from his peers may mean more, and he definitely has that.

  5. Aaron says

    4,
    I’m so pissed you beat me to that joke. So funny and true. Not only is lamar not a 7 footer… He is a small PF. Haha… I always laugh when people say that. Is it not enough to start two talented 7 footers?

  6. MannyP says

    I know that this game is very important to us, the Laker fans. We want revenge from X-mas and, more importantly, want to see this team show some “killer” instinct by putting away an opponent that appears to be stumbling. However, I wonder if the Laker players see it that way.

  7. Chris D says

    I might be in the minority, but I really don’t think the Heat are as terrible in the paint as everyone says they are. Now granted, Big Z, Dampier and Joel Anthony have the combined mobility of a septuagenarian stuck in a telephone booth, but if I remember correctly, one of the things the Heat did well on the Xmas day game was contest alot of shots at the rim from Gasol and Odom, leading to lots of jackups from the wings (and in turn plenty of long rebounds and runouts by James, Wade and Chalmers).

    I’ve also watched a relatively sizeable number of Heat games to see that their weaknesses in the low post are plentiful, but not overwhelming. Anthony is actually a decent man-to-man defender, and Z has actually been known to give Laker bigs fits due to his length and unusually impressive range for a man his size. Admittedly, against quicker and athletic bigs eg. Howard, KG, Boozer, Noah etc., they struggle which is why Miami often doubles with Lebron and another big in the paint against these guys.

    Nonetheless, if we start off with the kind of defense we’ve been playing since 02/22/11 and execute like we have been on offense, Miami will settle for long jumpers too. As great as they are in transition, right now they are woeful in the half court because they have no facilitators or consistent shooters. That means, no early jackups with like 10 seconds left, boxing out and quick movement in transition. We do that, and I think we win. No doubt it’s easier said than done, but with the way we’re playing right now, I fear no team frankly.

    Also, look for Kobe to be more of a facilitator except if the game is turning into a stinker for us.

  8. kwame a. says

    Aaron-I really feel the whole “3” 7 footers is an attempt to downgrade LO’s skills and ability to matchup with PFs (and occassionally Centers) while running the offense, etc.

  9. chibi says

    Bosh has recently been politicking for more touches down low. There are a couple of problems with implementing this tactic.

    1. If James/Wade don’t have the ball, their defenders sag into the lane.

    2. Dampier and Maagloire clog the lane. Z would be a good fit, but on the other end of the floor he can’t really defend screen roll or in transition.

    If and when Haslem returns, Bosh can make a case for more touches. To complain right now is kind of dumb.

  10. Aaron says

    8,
    I think it’s just journalists trying to emphasize how tall/long the Lakers are.

    9,
    Great points… Also Bosh much like Gasol is a finesse PF who is better facing up from the outside or the elbow. Except Bosh is also a couple inches shorter than Pau. Pounding away in the paint isn’t his forte.

  11. A. E. Hernandez says

    IMO, Shelburn is exactly right. In fact, it’s a serious blemish on the history of the NBA that Kobe will likely retire–shockingly to my mind–as perhaps a top-5 player all time while only garnering one measly MVP award.

    To me, it really puts the lie to how disingenuous the whole process is, and indeed, how fundamentally politicized the balloting has become. Think about it: at the height of his prowess in 2006, Kobe failed to receive a single–*single*–vote for MVP (1-5 slots) on one-sixth of the ballots, while one-sixth of the ballots had him as number 1. That was not a great year for the team, but not one vote? Huh? This for perhaps a top-5 player, almost certainly a top-10 player–during his peak.

    I love watching Steve Nash play, and believe he’s deserving of all the accolades he’s received. I am also by no means one of those psycho Kobe trolls. But it is an absolute shame that Nash will retire with more MVP consideration than #24.

    Then again, haters gonna hate. I’m looking at you Abbott…