Lakers News and Commentary

The Heat Going Down in Flames?

There's a great article over at ESPN.com by Ric Bucher about the mess Miami has gotten itself into during this off-season.  In 2005 Miami was one W away from a trip to the NBA Finals, but in 2005/2006 Ric sees nothing but pain for this team burdened with a lame duck coach, new “me first” additions, and an aging Shaq.  From the article:

The Heat aren't vying for a title no matter what happens, but at least they'll provide plenty of drama. The personalities are too fractious, the points of friction are too numerous and the expectations are ridiculously too high for anything more. Or less.

The main points Ric brings up are:

• Riley's lack of confidence in coach Van Gundy - after the Game 7 loss in the ECF Shaq bemoaned that coach hadn't gotten him enough touches in the final quarter.  With Riley's two-year coaching sabbatical and the Heat's dramatic turn around in the past two years, the coaching itch has likely returned.  This was made evident by Riley's slick “political” comments made during the off-season, questioning Van Gundy's coaching abilities.  Ric spells it out better in his own words: “I'm not saying Riley is purposely sabotaging Van Gundy's chance at survival, although I have to wonder what the basis of their mutual devotion really is. After all, Pat abruptly handed Van Gundy his first coaching job less than a week before the season began. For the following season, he reworked the team to land Shaq and did nothing to tamp down expectations until after the fact (recently claiming he believed all along that last year's team wasn't a championship-worthy unit).”
• The new off-season pickups - one W away from the NBA Finals last year would make most GMs pause, keep the core intact, and pick up a promising role player or two whose personality was guaranteed to mesh with the existing team's chemistry.  (Look at Dumar's moves this off-season.  While he did lose his head coach, he replaced him with a competent, veteran coach; rather than going trade-crazy, Dumars kept his core nucleus in place and added a solid, big body in Dale Davis.)
  
  Bug what did Riley do this summer?  Jettisoned Eddie Jones for Walker, Poise, and Jason “White Chocolate” Williams, three players who are going to want their fair share of touches.  Walker and Williams, too, are more offensively minded players, whereas Van Gundy is more focused on D.  And, as rumor has it, if Finley comes aboard it's just another once-great player who's going to need his minutes and touches, too.
  
  And will these new players submit to the orders of their coach?  After all, the man whose voice really matters has given a not-so-subtle “no confidence” vote in his coach.  Can Shaq keep these personalities in line?  That's the argument, and if anyone can I think Shaq can due more to his personality than his basketball prowress, but Ric brings up a good point on that matter, too: “The explanation I've heard from those who dismiss the potential chemistry concerns for Van Gundy is that Shaq will keep everyone in line. Nobody messes with the Big Po-Po.  Only they did that final year in Los Angeles, if memory serves, and again last spring in Miami, if Shaq's complaints that he didn't get the ball enough are correct.  The sad truth is that no matter what a player's credentials might be, once he can't single-handedly carry teammates where they otherwise couldn't go, the bark loses its bite. Michael Jordan knows that from his experience in D.C. Magic tasted it in his comeback in L.A. It happens in every walk of life. When the star or the boss loses his magic touch, the rolling eyes and behind-the-back jokes around the copier begin.”
• The new Heat squad lacks the team chemistry needed - as NBA history has shown time and time again, great teams win championships, not great players.  A team needs at least a few seasons to meld, to have its players and coaching staff build the necessary trust and intimate knowledge of one another in order to bring home the rings.  The Heat should have left their core intact, but instead they have gone on a personnel replacement binge.  From Ric's article: “Title-caliber chemistry requires collective playoff trials and tribulations. It might sound quaint, but teams have to grow together through hard times. I've never seen one that didn't. Adding Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell to the Minnesota Timberwolves made them better, but it didn't make them champions (and then it made them much worse). This very same Shaq-centric experiment actually failed two years ago with a better surrounding cast. Are the same people who have anointed the Heat the best in the East the same ones who had the Lakers with Karl Malone and Gary Payton waltzing to a title? I guarantee you this: More teams were intimidated by the '03-04 Lakers than will be by the '05-06 Heat. One reason: No one can picture this Heat team playing anything remotely close to championship-caliber defense.“

Needless to say it should be an interesting season for Heat fans.  Ric states that he has trouble seeing Van Gundy keeping his job past Christmas, which I'm inclined to agree with if the Heat stumble out of the starting blocks.

Another good article that echos this same sentiment is History Says Miami Won't Make It, from HOOPSWORLD.  “When teams go about making their own "dream teams", things don't necessarily end up in a championship. It almost never does. Stars tend to get in the way of each other and, unless there's a lot of humility and ego management, they clash.”  And with Van Gundy's future in question, he's going to be struggling to manage the egos.  Maybe Phil Jackson should have passed up his coaching gig with the Lakers this year and instead come in to help in Miami.