What used to be the marquee match up of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, played up by the NBA and always nationally televised, has certainly lost a bit of its hype. 300 pounds of hype to be precise. With Shaq in Phoenix (by the way, the guy has now played in Orlando, L.A., Miami and Phoenix- think weather might be part of his criteria?), this afternoon's game had a bit of a different feel.
Miami, losers of 21 of their last 22 coming into today' contest, were pumped up with the addition of Shawn Marion- making his Heat debut tonight. The Heat came out looking like a new team in the first half, running the floor and excelling in the transition game. Dwyane Wade and Shawn Marion had instant chemistry, and played well together from the first whistle.
Meanwhile for the Lakers, the honeymoon period with Pau Gasol is starting to end, and its time to get to business. Pau is a great addition for the Lakers inside, but often looks lost on defense and is still clearly learning the offense. Once he understands the triangle, and begins to click with his teammates, he will be a force, especially when combined with Bynum.
The Lakers were able to overcome the emotional play of Miami and controlled the game for most of the first half led by the play the efficient play of Kobe Bryant and some hot shooting from Sasha Vujacic.
The differential in three-point shooting and free throws was key for the Lakers as they began to pull away in the third. The Lakers shot 11 more freebies than the Heat, and also made twice as many three-pointers. With both teams using very short rotations, the bench play was not as big of a factor as usual, but the Lakers still got a big edge: 30-13.
L.A. began to blow the game open in the early fourth quarter, going on a 20-4 run at one point. However, in the final minutes the Lakers lost their focus as Miami pressed on defense and refused to give up. Ultimately though, the poise of Bryant and Gasol showed as they both hit big shots, and the experience of Derek Fisher controlling the ball was key, as the Lakers hung on to take it by ten: 104-94.
You have to feel for Miami, it's hard to fathom how this team has fallen so far from the top after winning the title less than two years ago. Guys like Wade and Pat Riley are just too good to be a part of such a bad team. Tonight looked like it might have been the beginning of a new page for the Heat, perhaps they can turn it around. But you have to wonder, is collecting wins at this point of the season going to do anything but hurt their chance in the draft lottery?
CO POTG- Lamar Odom and Kobe Bryant
With all the noise Pat Riley was making about Wade and Marion reminding him of Jordan and Pippen, it was Kobe and Lamar who looked the part tonight.
Kobe had an incredibly efficient game, hitting for 33 points on only 15 shots. He also had 5 rebounds, 3 assists and some great defense on Dwyane Wade.
Lamar had a great all around game, grabbing an incredible 18 rebounds, dishing out 6 assists and chipping in a (non-Kobe) Lakers' high 15 points.
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