Heat vs. Lakers: Why Intense Matchup Will Lead to Bitter Rivalry

Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade may deny any hard feelings regarding their recent All-Star game encounter, but everything about the upcoming matchup between the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers screams bitter rivalry.

Perhaps I'm looking a bit too much into it, but this does have all the traditional signs of a rivalry, and I do have a hard time thinking that Kobe will just forget about the fact that Wade busted up his nose in the All-Star game—of all places.

What does a bitter rivalry possess you ask? Every Lakers and Celtics team, Bad Boy Pistons and Jordan's Bulls—all very epic and very bitter rivalries.

They had these things in common with this matchup:

Star Power

There's no denying the star power that is on the court when these two teams get together. Kobe is a superstar all on his own and he will go down as one of the best to ever play in the NBA, but he's not the only player worth mentioning on the Lakers.

Pau Gasol is one of the better big men in the league, and Andrew Bynum is finally coming into his own and showing that star potential—averaging 16.2 points, 12.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game this season.

The Heat side of the superstar spectrum is obviously dominated by the Big Three, but frankly, what else do you need?

LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Wade make up the core of a team that is capable of winning multiple championships.

That so conveniently leads me to my next point.

Championship Implications

Rivalries are made because of implications, especially when they aren't regional. Kobe may not feel the Lakers are championship contenders in their current state, which may be true, but the fact remains that as long as he's there, they will always be one or two pieces away from contending.

If they do make it to the finals, I dare say the chances of them running into the Heat are pretty high.

The Heat are looking to take that next step and prove that they are champions. The Lakers are trying to prove that they still deserve to be champions.

Intensity

Nobody is more intense than Kobe on a basketball court, but we all know that Wade and LeBron can have their moments as well.

Winners want to win, and they'll do anything they can to take out whatever or whomever is in the way of that.

It's evident that this is an intense matchup. Throw in D-Wade's hard All-Star game foul on Kobe and now things are looking real interesting.

That leads to the last part of this budding rivalry...

Trash Talk

Check out what the Lakers' Matt Barnes had to say about protecting Kobe, via Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com:

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"Ron [Metta World Peace] and I have been calm all year, but if teams are going to start playing like this, we love it," Barnes said. "[The officials] like to call ticky-tack stuff on us. We really don't get to be too physical. If me and Ron act like we're going to do something, we get flagrant fouls called on us. So hopefully they're going to let us play. If they're going to let the league be physical, they need to let our team start being physical."

"

This doesn't seem to be directed right at the Heat, but it's definitely something worth noting.

Conclusion

Heat vs. Lakers has all the makings of a bitter rivalry, and I believe it will become one. The ingredients are in the oven and now all somebody needs to do is turn on the stove.