{"id":299209,"date":"2011-03-09T20:51:19","date_gmt":"2011-03-09T20:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/03\/09\/lakers-look-to-run-heats-slide-to-6-ap\/"},"modified":"2011-03-09T20:51:19","modified_gmt":"2011-03-09T20:51:19","slug":"lakers-look-to-run-heats-slide-to-6-ap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/03\/09\/lakers-look-to-run-heats-slide-to-6-ap\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers look to run Heat’s slide to 6 (AP)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

MIAMI (AP)\u2014It has come to this: Even Phil Jackson is offering a
\nsympathetic word to the reeling Miami Heat<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The coach of the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> has taken
\nplenty of jabs at the Heat in recent months, over everything from how this
\nroster was put together, Erik Spoelstra\u2019s job security, and this week the
\nalready-infamous episode dubbed \u201cCrygate.\u201d<\/p>\n

So on Wednesday, with the Heat in a five-game losing streak, Jackson stood
\non their home floor and had ample opportunity to poke Miami again.<\/p>\n

He went the other way instead.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom what I\u2019ve heard, this team feels like they\u2019re being looked at to
\nlose, or they\u2019ve been hoped at to lose,\u201d Jackson said before the Lakers
\npracticed for their Thursday game in Miami. \u201cI know locally that can\u2019t stand
\ntrue, but nationally, if that\u2019s the case, it\u2019s a burden to carry. And then those
\ngames that are dramatic become bigger than they really should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

That certainly seems to be the case around Miami these days.<\/p>\n

Not even two weeks ago, the Heat were in a virtual tie with Boston for the
\ntop spot in the Eastern Conference. Miami hasn\u2019t won since, falling to third in
\nthe East, 4 1\/2 games behind the Celtics and two games behind the Chicago Bulls<\/a>.
\nEven the No. 3 seed in the East playoffs isn\u2019t exactly assured, with Orlando
\nstarting play Wednesday three games behind the Heat.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a freefall, and the Heat know that when they lose games, most of the
\nNBA is thrilled. So Wednesday\u2019s practice wasn\u2019t about licking wounds, Spoelstra
\nsaid. The Heat needed to simply get back to work.<\/p>\n

\u201cLess talk, more action,\u201d Spoelstra said.<\/p>\n

Oh, there was plenty of talking as well.<\/p>\n

Miami lost to Portland 105-96 on Tuesday night, after which Wade suggested
\nhe\u2019d like to see rotation changes and Bosh insisted he would be demanding the
\nball more often down low. And on Wednesday, those themes hadn\u2019t changed much:
\nSpoelstra took the rare step of immediately watching Tuesday\u2019s game in his
\noffice afterward, and Bosh was planning to chat with Wade and James.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re all in this together, but at the end of the day, we know what people
\nare going to be looking at,\u201d Bosh said. \u201cAnd we know who\u2019s going to get the
\nfinger pointed at them first. And rightfully so\u2014we asked for this, coming
\ntogether, and we knew that coming into the situation. We take the responsibility
\nof it. It is what it is, no matter what we say, no matter what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lakers forward Lamar Odom<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said the Heat plight is one of the biggest stories
\nin sports right now. Considering who was offering opinions on the Heat a few
\nmiles away on Wednesday, he may be right.<\/p>\n

Tiger Woods\u2014with his own winless drought to deal with\u2014weighed in on the
\nstate of the Heat from nearby Doral, where he\u2019ll play in this week\u2019s World Golf
\nChampionships-Cadillac Championship.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are trying to jell and obviously they are adding pieces,\u201d Woods
\nsaid. \u201cI mean, as soon as they become more cohesive, they add (Mike) Bibby, so
\nit\u2019s going to take a little time. They have 18, 19 games left in the season,
\nsomewhere around there. They have plenty of time to turn it around and get
\nrolling for the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Lakers head into Thursday as the league\u2019s hottest team, winners of eight
\nstraight.<\/p>\n

But even the champs have had their issues at times this season, mild ones
\nanyway, with a four-game slide and a pair of three-game losing streaks on their
\nresume.<\/p>\n

That last three-game slump ended with the embarrassing pre-All-Star-break
\nloss in Cleveland. The Lakers haven\u2019t lost since, with five of their eight
\nvictories since the break ended coming by double digits.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe difference between us is that we all know what our roles are,\u201d Lakers
\nguard Kobe Bryant<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> said. \u201cThey\u2019re still trying to figure that out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clearly, that\u2019s the case. Bibby was added essentially in place of Carlos
\nArroyo<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> at point guard. James Jones<\/a>(notes)<\/a>,<\/span> Eddie House<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> and Zydrunas Ilgauskas<\/a>(notes)<\/a><\/span> have
\nlargely fallen out of the rotation at times, and Miami\u2019s bench is struggling\u2014
\ngetting outscored 41-8 by the Trail Blazers and a stunning 149-51 in the last
\nfour games.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing for sure about this team, we won\u2019t go down without a fight,\u201d
\nIlgauskas said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ll keep on fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even Jackson doesn\u2019t doubt that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe always say, the close games that you lose, the ones that are really
\ndramatic like that, they\u2019ll make up for somewhere along the line,\u201d Jackson
\nsaid. \u201cSomewhere along the line, they might do that. They might be in the
\nplayoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that was about as close Jackson came to tweaking the Heat all day.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More:
\nLakers look to run Heat’s slide to 6 (AP)<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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