Lakers David Fizdale Offers Insight on Comparisons Between Lakers and LeBron's Heat Teams
When the Lakers traded for Russell Westbrook, some fans and media drew comparisons to the Miami Heat big three of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. The Heat went on to win two titles in three seasons, and helped jumpstart a movement of superstars forming teams together to compete.
Both teams do have three stars, but much of the Heat was when James was 25 and Wade was 27. Both Westbrook and James are now 33 and 36 respectively, with both no longer at the peak of their powers.
The similarities to this Lakers team could be made to how the Heat started their first season together struggling a bit with a 9-8 record. However, unlike the Lakers who are still hovering around .500 at 14-13, the Heat went on to win 12 straight to assert their dominance on the rest of the league.
David Fizdale was an assistant coach with the Heat about a decade ago. He went on to coach the Grizzles and Knicks before joining the Lakers as an assistant coach this season. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin talked with Fizdale recently about the comparisons that he saw on the day-to-day basis between the two teams.
"This isn't the same team as I saw when I was in Miami. This is much different, where Dwyane was a 2-guard, Russ was a point guard and he's only known the ball. And that's a big difference, where Dwyane had done both so it allowed LeBron to handle it a lot more, and now it's getting Russ to have that give and take with LeBron. It's a totally unique and new experience."
Wade and Westbrook may both play as guards, but their styles are not too similar as Fizdale said. One of Wade’s skills was his ability to play off the ball. His basketball IQ was phenomenal as he knew the exact moments to cut to the rim or drop back to create space for teammates to get to work.
For much of Westbrook’s career, he needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Usually when the ball is out of his hands, he is standing on the perimeter not being too effective. With James’ usage rate at 29.4%—the lowest since his rookie year—he has had to adjust to play more off-ball with Westbrook as a backcourt mate.
There is still a lot of basketball left to be played, so James and Westbrook still have time to figure things out. Remember, it was not until the Heat’s Finals loss to the Mavericks when Wade told James that the team would only go as far as James took them. Hopefully, it will not take until the end of the season for the Lakers to figure it out.
