Can The Heat Earn a Two-Game Sweep Over Lakers In The Regular Season?
We Have An Edge After Breaking Down The Heat vs Lakers Odds
The Miami Heat will take on the Los Angeles Lakers in a featured game on ESPN in a non-conference matchup.
Miami began the season slow, but the Heat are currently 19-14 despite two straight losses. Meanwhile, the Lakers are back to .500 after losing three of their last four games.
With the Heat and Lakers both on a two-game losing streak, one team will finally get back in the win column.
Oddsmakers think it’ll be the Lakers escaping the losing streak. Los Angeles is a -6.5 favorite, with the total at 226.5 against the Heat.
Let’s break down these Heat vs Lakers odds below.
Heat vs Lakers 
Day/Time:
Location: crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, California
Streaming: Watch Live Sports
Heat vs Lakers Odds & Trends
The Miami Heat are 15-18 against the spread this season. They’ve covered four of their last six games. However, the last two losses were also losses against the spread.
Meanwhile, Miami has hit the Under in 17 of 33 games and has a winning record of 10-8 on the road this year.
On the other hand, the Lakers are just 15-19 against the spread. They’ve hit the Ovewr in 18 of 34 NBA matchups. However, most recently, the Over has hit in eight of their last ten games.
While the Lakers have struggled on the road, Los Angeles is 12-4 at home.
The Heat defeated the Lakers earlier this year, 108-107, in Miami on November 6.
Haywood Highsmith Enters Concussion Protocol
Haywood Highsmith has played in 21 games for the Heat this season. He’s averaged six points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists with a field goal percentage of 40.9%.
However, that production will be on the sideline for a couple of weeks. Highsmith has been placed in concussion protocol and won’t play in Miami’s road trip that ends on Friday.
The Heat’s rotation has been changing all season. Without Highsmith, Kevin Love, Nikola Jovic, and Orlando Robinson figure to take his place.
More Starting Lineup Changes For The Lakers
The Lakers are just 17-17 on the season and can’t figure out their rotations 34 games into the season.
Before the Lakers lost to the Pelicans on December 31, Darvin Ham threw out a lineup with LeBron James, starting with Jarred Vanderbilt, Rui Hachimura, Taurean Prince, and Anthony Davis.
It’s a lineup full of forwards, pushing James to be the point guard.
It didn’t work out too well. Vanderbilt scored four points in 21 minutes, and Hachimura added four points in just eight minutes despite starting. He suffered a left calf strain during Sunday’s game against the Pelicans.
D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish are both currently injured, and Austin Reaves is now coming off the bench with Christian Wood and Jaxson Hayes.
Los Angeles has many notable names on the roster. But the Lakers aren’t playing consistent basketball. That’s why they’re just an average group, sitting at 17-17 on the season.
Still, Darvin Ham will want to roll with his lengthy rotation to start games now. It’s just that Hachimura won’t be available against Miami. So, he won’t be able to stay consistent with the lineup in this one.
A Late Night Snoozer
The Heat and Lakers will have a lot of game-time decisions in this game.
As of Tuesday, D’Angelo Russell and Cam Reddish are questionable and listed as game-time decisions. However, Rui Hachimura has been ruled out.
Meanwhile, the Heat have Jimmy Butler, Caleb Martin, and Josh Richardson listed as game-time decisions.
In the first meeting between these two NBA teams, the Heat escaped the Lakers at home, 108-107. In that game, Bam Adebayo had a triple-double, while Anthony Davis scored just nine points on 4-for-7 from the field. Things have since changed since then.
Although the Lakers want to use a tall starting lineup, Los Angeles has only earned 23.2% of offensive rebounds. They’ve been weak on the glass and don’t earn second chances. They’ve survived because the Lakers have shot a 55.5% effective field goal percentage this season.
Still, the Lakers won’t find the foul line often against a Heat squad with a free throw rate ranked 6th in the NBA this season on the defensive end. The Heat should also add some turnovers against the Lakers, who have given up the ball 13.6% of the time.
On the flip side, the Heat are also weak on the offensive glass, earning 25.9% of offensive rebounds. Neither team will really dominate the offensive glass. The Lakers are better at limiting good looks and have held teams to a 16.8 free throw rate.
Ultimately, Miami’s better at getting to the foul line. But the Lakers are also disciplined enough to keep Miami away from the foul line.
After all, the Heat are an average offense, scoring 115.7 points per 100 possessions while shooting a 54.8% effective field goal percentage.
This is a game where we’ll likely see fewer second chances and fewer foul-shot attempts. Therefore, one of the NBA lines sticks out more than the others.
Neither team has consistently hit the Over or Under throughout the season when looking at the NBA scores. But with both teams dealing with some significant NBA injuries, after looking through the Heat vs Lakers odds, I’ll ride the Under 227.5 in this matchup.
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