Match Preview: LA Lakers vs Miami Heat

The LA Lakers will play the Miami Heat tonight at 2 AM on Sony SIX. The last time these two teams met on 18 January, the Heat won 99-90 courtesy LeBron James‘ 39 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. This is the second and final time the two teams will meet in the regular season this year. Quite possibly the only time as the Lakers aren’t a lock to make it to the postseason, let alone the finals where the Western Conference Finalist will fight the Eastern Conference Finalist. Miami has won five of the last six meetings between these two teams.

Road woes

The Lakers are woeful on the road. Their record stands at 9-17 while traveling. And the Heat are on a roll right now, riding high on a 6-game winning streak at home for the best home record in the Eastern Conference with 21-3. They come into this one on the back of an impressive win over the LA Clippers. In the return of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin and Chauncey Billups, the Heat held those three to a mere 23 points and won, 111-89. They have momentum on their side and are the best in the East with a 33-14 record, although they are 12-11 on the road. Lakers are 24-27 and desperate to climb above .500.

Missing in action

Chris Bosh and Ray Allen are questionable for tonight’s game as they are down with the flu. For the Lakers, Pau Gasol is nurturing the torn plantar fascia in his foot and Jordan Hill is bothered by his hip. While Dwight Howard will be playing, the center has been having nagging back problems in addition to the torn labrum in his shoulder.

The King rules

LeBron James is having a historic season and is in scintillating hot form. Over the last four games he has shot 43 of 59 from the field for 72.8 % while averaging 30.8 points per game. For the season he is shooting 56% from the field.

“He’s the best player in the game and he’s continuing to reinvent himself,” coach Erik Spoelstra said. “This guy isn’t trying to shy away from work ethic or preparation. He’s getting after it. Our film sessions, he treats them like he’s a coach. He sees something, he’ll point it out to the guys.”

LeBron James is the best player in the league, and the playbook on him has always been to keep him out of the paint and limit the damage he does. Scarily, this season he is shooting 42% from the three point range so there isn’t any hope of stopping him, best you can hope for is to contain him and counter on the other end.

The Mamba passes

“We have to play the right way. When we have shots available, we take them. If we don’t, move the ball on. It can’t be about individual touches. It can’t be about that,” said Steve…no actually Kobe Bryant said that. He was scoreless in the first half vs the Bobcats in their last game and finished with 20 points after getting his teammates involved in the first half. The last time the Lakers played versus the Heat, Kobe shot 8 for 25 for 22 points. Lakers committed 20 turnovers in that game and the Heat aren’t a team you want to give up easy baskets to.

The Lakers come into this one with win over the Bobcats, 100-93. The Bobcats are among the worst teams in the league if not the worst as they have only won 4 of their last 37 games. Being down by 20 against them in the second half doesn’t speak much for your team even if you beat them. The Lakers are in the midst of a 7 game road trip, they have gone 4-2 on it thus far and will conclude it in Miami tonight.

“I think in the future that is how you’re going to see us play with Kobe getting guys involved early on,” Lakers’ reserve forward Antawn Jamison said. “Seeing how it goes, and then as the game goes into the fourth quarter he begins to take over a little bit.”

The new Kobe has helped the Lakers win in their road trip and is averaging 8.1 assists in the last nine games. The Lakers have won 7 of the last 9 games but they have also become butterfingered in this stretch as they average 14.8 turnovers.

Here’s a look at Kobe’s performance when the Lakers played the Heat last month:

Here’s how the starting lineups stack up:

Steve Nash vs Mario Chalmers

Steve Nash averages 12 PPG with 7.6 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 33.3 minutes of action. Chalmers averages 7.7 PPG with 3.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds.

Advantage: Lakers. Nash may be older and slower, but he’s still better than half the point guards in the league.

Kobe Bryant vs Dwyane Wade

Wade averages 20.9 PPG with 4.7 assists and 4.8 rebounds and 1. steals in 34 minutes per game. Bryant is having a well rounded season averaging 27.4 PPG with 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists while averaging 1.4 steals in 38.5 minutes of action.

Advantage: Lakers, mostly because Wade doesn’t have to shoulder the huge load, which Kobe has to as he has LeBron with him.

Metta World Peace vs LeBron James

The King is averaging 26.9 PPG with 6.9 assists and 8.1 rebounds to go with 1.6 steals and 0.9 blocks in 38.5 minutes per game. World Peace averages 13 PPG with 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 34.2 minutes per game.

Advantage: Take a wild guess. World Peace be damned.

Earl Clark vs Udonis Haslem

Haslem averages 19.5 minutes per game and is scoring 3.8 PPG and getting 5.6 rebounds. Earl Clark is coming into his own and is averaging 7.8 points with 6.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 22 minutes per game.

Advantage: Lakers. Clark can stretch the floor to the three point line and pull Haslem out of position.

Dwight Howard vs Joel Anthony

Anthony averages 1.5 PPG with 2 rebounds in 10.5 minutes per game. While Howard is still limited by his injuries, he is averaging 16.2 PPG with 11.8 rebounds in 34.7 minutes per game.

Advantage: Lakers. A injured Howard is still among the top five centers in the league.

Funnily enough, the Lakers have the better center, point guard, shooting guard and power forward, and yet the Heat are the better team by a huge margin. Games aren’t played on paper, which is where the Lakers can beat the Heat. But as we saw the last time these two teams met, the Lakers brought it big versus their quality opponent. There’s something about these two teams, which brings out the best in each other.

James is stamping his seal on the game as the best player and Kobe is not ready to relinquish the torch just yet. An old school duel is on the cards. Howard is also fuming at how Kobe has been urging him to play through injury at the risk of long term damage and he will be looking to prove himself. Expect a entertaining contest, if you can stay up at 2 AM.

It’s more economical to go to sleep at by 11 PM and set the alarm to 2 PM to catch the games shown at these times. I’ve lost count of the number of times I valiantly stayed up till ungodly hours only to snuggle off into dreamland shortly after tip-off. But if there was a game, which would take your sleep away, this is the one.