Some people will look at today's 16-point blowout game and say, "That's it, the Heat are the better team. The Lakers are done!"
But when I look at this game, I see evenly matched opponents who will easily go the distance in a playoff series.
Let me explain before you click the "previous" button.
When you look at the overall statistics between both teams, you'll see that the Heat did just a little bit better than the Lakers in pretty much every category.
The shot a little bit better.
They picked up one more rebound than the Lakers.
They were more active on defense.
These are all intangibles that change on a game basis and there are very few things you can do to gain control on intangibles, some of which are staying focus and playing hard defense—that way, you'll have a better chance at getting calls your way and getting the ball to fall in your favor.
So when we look at what the Heat did right in this game, it was staying focused and playing hard defense.
And when we look at what the Lakers did wrong in this game, it was the lack of focus and intensity.
Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant allowed themselves to get too emotional and pick up silly fouls that could have easily been avoided if they didn't overplay their player. Then, to pick up technical fouls did not help their case for the sportsmanship of the year award.
To make matters worse for them, LeBron is making Kobe look like a pinball on their match ups together.
As a team, they missed a lot of short shots that could have easily been converted if they just went a little bit harder on them.
But give the Heat credit, they tried as hard as possible to make every shot difficult. Even as the clock was winding down and all the white-flag players were on the court, they still swarmed the Lakers on defense and tried to make them take difficult shots.
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
Los Angeles Lakers-Miami Heat Reaction: Adjustments Needed For Next Time
Published: December 26, 2010Posted in: LA Lakers