Lakers Vs Heat Tickets
GAME: L.A. Lakers Lakers (18-9) at Miami Heat (12-14)
DATE/TIME: Monday, December 25 - 2:30 PM EST
SPREAD: Miami 1 TOTAL: 200.5

With Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant having made peace, the hype for another Christmas Day game between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers has died down. The luster is diminished further with O'Neal missing altogether.

The storyline now shifts to Bryant matching up against the player who may be supplanting him as the league's top backcourt talent when Dwyane Wade and the Heat meet the Lakers on this holiday for a third straight year.

"Kobe makes you step your game up, step your leadership up," Wade said, "because you know he's going to do the same. But it's not a 1-on-1 matchup. It's not about that, at the end of the day."

Bryant and O'Neal seemed to be feuding ever since parting ways after leading the Lakers to three straight titles from 2000-02. That fueled a budding Miami Heat-Lakers rivalry, prompting the league to schedule one meeting on Christmas for a nationally televised audience each of the past two seasons.

On Jan. 16 in the most recent matchup, however, O'Neal and Bryant shook hands and embraced briefly at center court shortly before tip-off. Bryant scored 37 while O'Neal had only 18 in the Lakers' 100-92 win.

Apparently the NBA still felt the anticipation for this game warranted a Christmas Day showcase, maybe more for the Bryant-Wade showdown than Bryant-O'Neal. The latter matchup won't happen because O'Neal has missed all but four games this season due to a knee problem and is not expected to return for at least another week.

That leaves the shooting guards as the main attraction. Wade cemented himself as an elite superstar by leading Miami to last season's NBA championship and winning Finals MVP - something Bryant has yet to do.

"Two great players," Miami Heat forward Dorell Wright said. "Kobe and D-Wade are two of the three best players in the NBA, along with Shaq. It's going to be fun."

Bryant has averaged 33.8 points to Wade's 23.6 in five head-to-head meetings, but the Miami Heat have won three of them.

Wade is averaging career highs of 28.1 points - fourth-best in the league - and 8.0 assists as he's tried to help the Miami Heat (12-14) overcome O'Neal's absence. Miami is 8-3 this season when Wade scores at least 30 points, but 4-11 when he doesn't.

Bryant is down to 27.8 points per game after leading the league last season at 35.4, but a better balance on offense has proven successful for the Lakers. After being around .500 for much of 2005-06, the Lakers have been well above that for most of this season and are only 2 1/2 games behind San Antonio for the league's best record.

"The challenge I have is to make teams see that I can just be as big a threat passing the ball," said Bryant, averaging 5.2 assists this season.

The Lakers are 11-4 when Bryant is held below 25 points, including 3-0 in games he's missed. They are 9-2 when he has at least six assists. That record includes Los Angeles' most recent game, a 99-95 victory in New Jersey on Friday as Bryant had a season-high 11 assists to go with his 21 points.

The Lakers improved to 2-1 on their six-game road trip, which also includes stops this week at Orlando and the Charlotte Bobcats.

The Miami Heat have won three of four overall, including a 105-92 victory over Golden State on Saturday as Jason Kapono came off the bench to score a career-high 27 points.

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Kevin Love
Think Elton Brand. Kevin Love is a unique player. Kevin Love is a horse inside who loves to play and put up numbers. Kevin Love is a character of the game. Beginning to show 3-point range and worst case scenario is that he plays to mid-range facing the basket. Rebounds, passes well and has intensity to go with intangibles.

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Jerryd Bayless combines incredible speed, quickness and athleticism with a high level of intelligence and composure ... Winners mentality ... He really excels on the offensive end of the floor with his scoring ability ... Has an extra gear blowing by defenders with ease, and needs just an inch of daylight to get his jumpshot off ... Excellent body strength for his age ... He understands how to create shots for himself and has incredible leaping ability

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