The Los Angeles Lakers (14-20, 6-12 Away) will try to overcome one of the league’s top scoring defenses when they are on the road to face the Miami Heat (17-17, 10-8 Home) on Wednesday. Los Angeles is playing on back-to-back days after outplaying the Orlando Magic 129-110 at Amway Center yesterday.
With 28 points, LeBron James was the leading scorer. Thomas Bryant chipped in with 21 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers are the 13th seed in the Western Conference. Miami won a close one on Monday at FTX Arena, beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 113-110.
Max Strus led the team in scoring with 19 points. With 15 points and nine rebounds, Orlando Robinson also impressed. The Heat are the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference. It’s the first meeting of the season between the teams. Los Angeles and Miami split their matchups last season, each team winning one.
The Heat won the last meeting 113-107 at FTX Arena on January 23. Duncan Robinson led the Heat with 25 points, while Jimmy Butler had a triple double with 20 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds. James had 33 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
James and Anthony Davis, averaging 27.8 and 27.4 points per game, respectively, are leading the Lakers in scoring this season. Both are among the league’s top scorers, as James is ninth and Davis is 10th. Davis also has grabbed 12.1 rebounds per game, third-most in the league.
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook is dishing 7.7 assists per game. Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo have been the primary providers for the Heat on offense, averaging 21.1 and 20.8 points per game, respectively. Adebayo also has collected 9.8 rebounds per game. Kyle Lowry has recorded 6.0 assists per game.
Holding opponents to 109.2 points per game, the Heat are one of the stingiest scoring defenses in the league (4th). The Lakers have come up short in recent trips to FTX Arena, losing seven of the last 10. Meanwhile, the Lakers are 1-3 when playing two days in a row this season and 0-2 in such games against rested opponents. The Heat are 2-1 with a rest advantage.
In the last 10 games, Los Angeles is 4-6 with an average margin of -2.2 (120.7-122.9). Miami has a 6-4 record over the last 10, allowing 107.4 points per game on average while scoring only 106.5 (-0.9 margin).
LAKERS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Thomas Bryant: 24.0 | 17.4 | +6.6
Points per game:
Austin Reaves: 14.7 | 11.2 | +3.5
Rebounds per game:
Thomas Bryant: 8.2 | 5.5 | +2.7
LeBron James: 5.3 | 8.0 | -2.8
HEAT HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points per game:
Kyle Lowry: 19.5 | 14.4 | +5.1
Rebounds per game:
Tyler Herro: 4.2 | 5.9 | -1.7
SportsTips’ NBA Pick:
Miami Heat -8.5 (-105)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
