Kobe Bryant and the Lakers were abused by LeBron James and the Heat last night in a Christmas showdown that failed to live up to the hype despite all the star power present and quite possibly delivered the decisive wake-up call to Phil Jackson’s group that they desperately needed. The Heat were particularly effective defensively, holding Los Angeles to an abysmal .405 shooting percentage in their 96-80 victory and have now won fourteen of their last fifteen contests.

Actually, it did live up to the hype in a way - LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh put on a show that has silenced most Heat-haters and doubters for the moment.

And possibly woke up a sleeping giant in L.A.

On the surface this was the worst possible outcome for everyone out there (including me) who claimed that the Heat couldn’t or wouldn’t pull it together this season.

I admit that as of right now I was terribly wrong.

Lebron ran through, over, and around the Lakers defense for 27 points, eleven boards, ten assists, and four steals to record only the fourth triple-double on Christmas in NBA history (the others are Oscar Robertson, Billy Cunningham, and John Havlicek) and the first in forty years.

It was his 31st career triple-double and he scored his points efficently on 8-14 shooting that included five of six makes from downtown.

Dwyane Wade was also extremely effective at penetrating through the Lakers soft defense despite a poor shooting performance. Wade drew the defense in and allowed Bosh and James room to operate, which worked well on this night.

And the Heat defense? Simply awesome, folks. Dwyane Wade took his assignment of guarding Kobe Bryant very seriously and the Heat’s perimeter defense contributed to many poor or non-existent looks.

The Lakers really didn’t effectively rotate or execute their defensive assignments all that well, especially on Chris Bosh who poured in 24 points on 11-17 shooting and grabbed thirteen boards. Bosh had plenty of room to operate against Pau Gasol and company and delivered a vicious dunk in the first off of terrible help defense from… everyone?

Seriously, how in the world does Bosh get that much room to lift off? We don’t even allow that on my local men’s league team!

He did travel, though. Just thought I’d point that out.

While the Heat’s performance was certainly outstanding if I’m Phil Jackson I’m incredibly concerned and upset over the lack of intensity and urgency by L.A. - particulary their bigs.

Other questions popped into my head during the course of the conest, such as:

What happened to closing out on shooters, Derek Fisher?

Why throw those lazy passes, Ron Artest?

Is that how you plan on defending the pick-and-roll against the Spurs or Jazz in the playoffs?

How many layups and dunks does one team need to give up before embarrassment sets in?! How many open lanes to the bucket do you allow before adjusting in the biggest game of the young season?

I’m not a Lakers fan but I simply couldn’t believe how many defensive lapses occurred in this one from everybody on the roster.

Kobe put up a bunch of forced shots that completely sullied the offenses execution, which in turn caused everyone to just stand around, Pau Gasol looked tenative at times around the rim, and Lamar Odom played pretty terrible defense for a guy with his skill level.

Bryant was obviously livid after the game.

A few quotes by Bryant after the game via Yahoo! Sports and ESPN:

  • Kobe Bryant walked into the locker room after LeBron James and the Miami Heat had finished their Christmas humiliation of the defending champs, and it was clear he didn’t have much of a pep talk for his teammates.

“We’re playing like [bleep],” Bryant shouted.

*Bryant doesn’t have to search long for the reason why. *

“Complacency,” Bryant told Yahoo! Sports. “We play too straight. “We got to nip that [bleep] in the bud now.”

  • Bryant appeared offended when asked if his team was bored with the process of playing an 82-game season. But he also said the Lakers need to toughen up in practice before they take the court again.

“I’m going to kick some ass in practice…” Bryant said. “It’s going to get through. You beat it into their heads until it gets through.”

  • “All it takes is one guy,” Bryant said after the game, breaking his mini silence with reporters. “Our philosophy is that everybody must be on the same page. You’re only as strong as your weakest link and we all have to lock in and get going. We’re playing like we have two rings.”

  • “It’s your job. You need to show up and work,” Bryant said like an angry boss talking about his habitually late employees. “I don’t buy that crap. Show up and get to work.”

  • “It’s not about getting embarrassed,” Bryant said. “I don’t get embarrassed. It’s about winning. It’s the competitiveness of winning the game. I don’t like losing. I don’t care what anybody thinks. I just don’t like losing, period.”

  • “I think these games mean more to our opponents than they do to us. I think we need to get that straight. We need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games. I don’t like it.”

That last quote is a telling one - all great teams in NBA history succumbed to complacency at one point or another during the long grueling season but if any game should have lit a fire under Bryant’s teammates it would have been this one.

I hate to put it in simple terms like this but, quite frankly, the Heat just wanted this one more and executed as such.

Los Angeles will have plenty of time to fume over this loss and anticipate their next battle with the Heat - they play in Miami on March 10, 2011 in a game that promises far more intensity than last night’s affair delivered.

This one-sided affair might have been just the whooping the Lakers needed to finally get themselves motivated for the long winter season.

Hopefully Los Angeles will look the part of a two-time defending champ next time.