The Heat have regrouped after their minor slide and losses to the Dallas Mavericks and second tier teams such as the Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies. The struggle is far from over especially when there continue to be rumors of Erik Spoelstra being replaced and the lack of chemistry between Wade and James on the court.
The Lakers now see themselves in an equally unfortunate position having just received their 4th straight loss at the hands of the Houston Rockets. The loss of Andrew Bynum and the lack of production from Pau Gasol will be the plague that continues to consume games that should be in the win column for the Lakers.Kobe continues to put up numbers that have become just the usually when talking of his play but the need for him to set aside his will to force his team to win in place of a will to help his team win is rather obvious. In all but one of the losses this season Kobe Bryant has been the leading scorer easily proving that him getting his points isn't enough for them to win. Even more shocking Kobe leads his team in assists thus far at 4.7apg which is 31st in the league while the rest of the top teams in the league have a APG leader somewhere in the top of this category.
Later today as it is about 1:30am EST Lebron returns to Cleveland. Undoubtedly he will emerge victorious against a team that lacks a star caliber player such as the one that left during free agency last year. Having a record on 3 games above .500 means that there is still a long way to go before they reach the promised land of a 70 win season or even the playoffs. But the cold reaction of the fans in Cleveland will put joy in my heart which hated Lebron long before he took a huge dump all over the city and team that loved him.
Both the Lakers and Heat remain a dangerous adversary to any team but behind Kobe's game highs in scoring in all four of their losses mean that the Lakers specifically and both teams in general need to find scoring outside of the star(or stars in Miami's case). In only one of the losses Miami has had this year has either Wade or Lebron led scoring and had more than 30 points. In all their other losses they have either scored less than 30 or not had the leading scorer
As a Celtics fan, watching the Lakers and Heat lose is the most excitement in the regular season. We know that the veteran leadership of the Celtics is enough for them to easily coast into the post season, as they have done in the past couple seasons. But when the Lakers and Heat hit their stride come late March and April will the veteran status of the Celtics be enough to remain at the end of the NBA Playoffs and Finals. Or will these teams ever find it. It's safe to say with Phil Jackson at the reins it will be a cold day in hell when he doesn't lead his team to success but as for now the need to right the ship and get back on course is inarguable and how long will it be before Pat Riley makes his way from the desk chair in the front office to the seat next to the scorer's table at the end of the bench.
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