a Lump of Coal for the Boys in Gold

Advantage: Lebron

The hype leading up to Christmas day's Heat-Lakers matchup was ridiculous. Of course the overused headline of Kobe versus Lebron was present, but this game was supposed to mean more. This meeting was supposed to be a potential preview of the NBA finals. But from the look of things, only one of these teams deserves to still be playing in June.

The 96-80 victory by Miami, had a greater impact than anyone could've imagined, but not in the way one would assume. It certainly gave the Heat a marquee win to hang their hat on, as they'd been criticized all season for taking advantage of lesser opponents. Things should steadily improve for the Big 3 now, as they appear to play for a team that is actually developing chemistry(especially defensively).

The same can't be said for the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers, they are a team looking for answers. This loss caps what has been a rather unimpressive 21-9 start to the season. With 52 games to go, the Western Conference appears to be significantly better than last year, and it is not far fetched to say that the Lakers could be eliminated early if their play doesn't improve. To their defense, injuries have limited their frontcourt, and Phil Jackson still doesn't realize that Steve Blake should be starting.



A very frustrated Kobe



One must wonder what this team's issue could be. Kobe Bryant has a suggestion, and it's complacency. "We know what we’re capable of doing. That’s the problem,” quips Bryant. "I’m going to kick some ass in practice.”

Why wouldn't this team be overconfident with their dramatic finish to last season? Lamar Odom is now by all accounts a full-fledged celebrity. Pau Gasol shook the "soft" label by putting up MVP performances against a hobbled KG. Even Ron Artest had a clutch Game 7, forcing many to forget his Pacer days and sympathize with his mental health issues.

It's as if Kobe is the only one that has maintained that do-or-die mentality. Certainly fitting for a man that is trying to solidify his spot amongst the all-time greats. For LA's sake, this team needs to regain the focus that allowed them to lift their biggest star when he shot 6-24 in last year's most important game. If they can't figure things out in time, they could be witnessing the Finals the same way most fans do: on TV.