Dwayne Wade complains that the world is getting what it wants when the Heat lose. Kobe Bryant practices by himself an hour after an excruciating loss. Chris Bosh sniffles at the podium and bemoans his lack of touches. Kobe Bryant works on the shot that didn’t help his team last night but might help his team in the future. LeBron James tweets about going to war with his soldiers. Kobe Bryant is a bonafide general on the court and leads his teammates by example.
That is the cruci
al difference between their team and ours. The Heat whine to anyone who will listen and through every available media outlet. The Lakers are taciturn by comparison and prefer to work on their issues in house and show the results on the court.
Obviously the Heat know how to win ballgames (some of the time), but it is always easier to win games than to lose games. I know, duh. But in all honesty you never know what kind of team you have until adversity hits. Real adversity. That is when you see what each guy is made of and whether they can rise to the challenge or wilt under its immense pressure.
This season for the Lakers has been one of their most challenging in recent memory as a championship contender. They have had more losing streaks and fought more complacency than years past. The bulls-eye on their back grows larger with everything that they accomplish, and that can be wearying. The media blasted them, the fans questioned them and everyone asked what was wrong with the Lakers?
Instead of calling each other out or taking to Twitter, they weathered the storm and banded together. They got their mental focus back and have showed the league over the past month why they are the two time defending champions.
