Monday, March 28, 2005
The Writing Was on the Wall in L.A.
On the surface, it would appear that the Los Angeles Lakers got the bad end of the offseason deal that sent Shaquille O'Neal to the Miami Heat. The Heat sit comfortably atop the Eastern Conference while the Lakers dropped to 32-37 on Sunday night.
While Kobe Bryant struggles, his former running mate could live life every night as if he were in a Will Smith music video. If he so desired. The two have seen completely opposite levels of success since parting ways. Shaq comes off looking great in the break-up. Since he is no longer in Los Angeles, Kobe Bryant is taking the heat for having pushed O'Neal away. Then the whole contrast of success between the two teams comes into play.
Kobe needs Shaq is a popular sentiment these days.
But, that is easy to say and ignores some outside factors. It's unfair to think of Kobe Bryant as less of a player because the Lakers are struggling this season while the Heat are tearing through the competition. Bryant is in a situation where he is the star and only has role players around him. O'Neal has moved to a situation where he is a star, but also has a budding star at his disposal.
Did O'Neal go to Miami because he believes that Dwayne Wade is the future of the game while Bryant should only be spoken about in the past tense? Doubtful.
Look at some of the teams that the Shaq and Kobe Lakers took down in their championship runs.
The Philadelphia 76ers, for starters. Mainly because they most mirror Bryant's current situation. The Sixers had one gunner in Allen Iverson and a bunch of players playing their roles to perfection when they made a championship run. It was a special season for Philadelphia because they got there on the back of one player. Bryant's Lakers might someday make a run with the team completely on his back. He can make it happen with himself as the lone superstar, but it is far from easy and everything needs to fall into place.
Then look at some of the Western Conference teams that have not done what the Lakers have done. First, the Portland Blazers and then the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, two teams that have had a ton of talent, but no one on that top plateau.
The point is simple. O'Neal is not blind to this. O'Neal realizes a specific mold that can win championships. You take a player on the top plateau and you couple that player with someone on the next level below. That is what O'Neal has in Miami. That is what Bryant does not have in Los Angeles.
O'Neal has mentioned several times since his arrival in Miami that he saw something in Wade's play during Miami's postseason travels last season. What did O'Neal see? Obviously, he saw someone that he felt he could work with, that he felt he could succeed with.
Shaq is the superstar, Wade is the second-tier player. That's a formula for success in this league.
Bryant has a whole slew of third-tier, or lower, players by his side. Guys like Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm, Caron Butler, Devean George. Players that occasionally show a spark, but just aren't consistent enough. That is a formula for struggling in this league.
Wade, in one season, has shown the level of consistent play that a team that wants to win ball games needs. It was not hard to predict that Shaq and Wade would find success while Bryant found struggles. Everyone saw this coming, but yet the attacks on Bryant increase. Suddenly, he is viewed as less of a talent.
People say that the Lakers got taken on this trade. Sure, they aren't enjoying this season, but the Lakers still made a good trade.
The Lakers were going to lose one of their amazing duo. If they had lost Bryant, they would likely struggle as they are struggling now.
Why? Because when you take one piece away and don't replace it with a single part on that level that remaining part is going to receive an increased and sometimes unexpected level of attention.
When Bryant received one-on-one defensive coverage, he now faces a double-team. When Bryant once received a double-team, he now might face a triple-team. This is how teams can defend Bryant these days. It is first of all tougher and second of all new.
Now we get to find out what Bryant is made of. The writing was on the wall for the season to play out like this. Shaq is going to be in Miami for three seasons. After that? Probably not. Bryant is still going to be in Los Angeles when O'Neal is done. Because of that, O'Neal was the right superstar to get rid of. The only one you can get rid of.
The Lakers now need to find the right part to go with Bryant, as the Heat have the right part to go with O'Neal. Did they think Butler or Odom would have been that part? Probably not. But Butler and Odom are above-average pieces that will look better when the Lakers do find the right person to play alongside Bryant.
For Bryant and the Lakers, it's not about this season. It's about how you bounce back and move forward. This season is likely torture for fans of the storied franchise, but they aren't exactly dead in the water.