Game Preview: Heat vs. Lakers

Hello All,

Thursday night, the Heat (30-31) will take on the Lakers (46-15), considered by most to be the best team in the league.

The Heat have looked better since Dwyane Wade returned against the Magic (really called that one, huh Dan?), but the Lakers come in droves and not only feature another of the league’s top 3 players (some guy named Kobe), but also probably the best supporting cast of any team.

 PROBABLE STARTERS

 

            Heat                            Lakers

PG       Alston                         D. Fisher

SG       Cook                           K. Bryant

SF       Richardson                  R. Artest

PF       Beasley                        P. Gasol

C         O’Neal                            A. Bynum

The Heat do not have the big bodies to corral the Twin Towers of Gasol and Bynum and “Sixth Man” Lamar Odom, who just put up a 20/10 game off the bench the other night. That’s right, off the bench.

 STATISTICAL BREAKDWON (Stats from statsheet.com; 3/3/10)

 Effective Field Goal %

 The Heat is 20^th in the league at 49%; the Lakers are 13^th at 49.9%.

EDGE: Lakers

 Turnover %

 The Heat is 4^th in the league at 13.1%; the Lakers are 6^th at 13.3%.

EDGE: Even

 Offensive Rebound %

 The Heat is 19^th in the league at 25.9%; the Lakers are 14^th at 27%.

EDGE: Lakers

 Free Throw Rate

 The Heat is 18^th in the league at 29.2%; the Lakers are 15^th in the league at 27.7%.

EDGE: Lakers

 KEY TO THE GAME

 This is a classic case of the numbers not telling the full story. The Lakers are the best team in the league, and yet they look mediocre according to the Four Factors.

They have the clear edge in rebounding in this matchup, although the numbers would say that it is close. Anyone who watches the Heat knows that this is misleading.

The bottom line is that it is up to Wade and his supporting cast (Carlos Arroyyo?!?!?!?) to keep this thing close until the end. If that happens then it becomes a one on one game between Wade and Kobe, which could go either way.

Kobe is known as an assassin in the clutch, and with good reason. But Wade isn’t half bad either, and obviously represents the Heat’s best chance in this home game.

Always guard the inbound passer.