The Heat is well aware of the buzzsaw it is walking into Friday night in Los Angeles against the red-hot Lakers. "They're coming out and playing with an edge, with a chip," forward James Jones said "They're playing great basketball." "They're in a great flow," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It doesn't seem like they've missed a beat since the championship run."
The Heat is particularly impressed with how well the on-court chemistry has worked with offseason acquisition Ron Artest.
"A lot of people say, 'Well, they had a great team last year and now they're adding Artest,'" Jones said, "but they have fought against any letdown."
Friday night, it means Artest and Kobe Bryant can tag-team the defensive assignment against Dwyane Wade.
"I think that move was strictly for late in the season, for the playoffs, to help give Kobe some help on the defensive end, as well," Wade said. "And Ron is a veteran; he's been there. And I think those guys in L.A. can help him with anything off the court."
It is the added defensive component, Spoelstra said, that makes nights such as Friday so challenging.
"You figure, at some point, some time, they could get to a lineup with two of the 7-footers, Lamar (Odom) and then Artest and Kobe Bryant," Spoelstra said. "They may be able to hold teams to under 12 points in a quarter. It looks like a great defensive team. He fits in great with their size and their athletic ability."
NUGGETS 114, HEAT 96: The Heat fell for the eighth consecutive time in Denver, with guard Dwyane Wade now 0-6 over his career at the Pepsi Center. A 14-0 second-quarter Nuggets run fueled by four Heat turnovers proved decisive.
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