LA Lakers vs Miami Heat Prediction: Can Lakers tackle a pesky Heat?

The NBA Regular Season is still a lot of months away from entering the Playoffs and a lot of action is still due. Trades are going to pile up soon it seems and it will be interesting to see what players' movement will be there. To add to the NBA Regular Season cap, the Los Angeles Lakers are going to take on the Miami Heat in a cross-Conference battle. 

The Lakers come into this game after defeating the Hornets 121:115 as LeBron James burned another defense with 43 points, making it the second 40+ points outing in a row. This was the Lakers’ second straight win and they have won three out of the last four games, after hitting a four-game losing streak before that. The Lakers have a poor record with just 21 losses and 16 wins and have dug a deep hole.

LeBron has had to carry an extra load in absence of Anthony Davis. Dennis Schroeder has been a decent inclusion but he is not the same player that could hit 20 regularly. The biggest boost has been provided by Thomas Bryant who has been scoring inside and collecting a ton of rebounds. Russell Westbrook’s dwindling production has been a bit concerning but his playmaking and rebounding have rescued the squad at times. Lonnie Walker IV is in a slump after a hot start.

The Heat enters the game after defeating the short-handed Clippers 111:100 as Bam Adebayo collected 31 points and 13 rebounds. This was the second straight win for Miami which has now won four of its last five games. The Heat has won an impressive six out of seven road games but due to a slow start, they just have 20 wins and have collected 18 losses. The Heat’s record is an underwhelming return after the team had been the second-best squad in the East last season.

Adebayo has scored 30+ twice in a row and his aggressiveness on the offensive end has been a major reason why the Heat has improved. Jimmy Butler and Tyler Herro are other 20+ points scorers but the offense can be sticky despite the team having three 30+ points scorers. One of the reasons for that is Kyle Lowry’s dipped production alongside a thinned-down bench. Max Strus has grown as a player but the Heat’s depth has been an issue.

• Lakers: OUT: Anthony Davis. QUESTIONABLE: LeBron James, Lonnie Walker IV. PROBABLE: Russell Westbrook;
• Heat: OUT: Omer Yurtseven, Nikola Jovic. QUESTIONABLE: DeWayne Dedmon. PROBABLE: Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin.

• Expected Leading Scorers: LeBron James(29-35 Points)-QUES, Bam Adebayo(28-35 Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Bam Adebayo(10-13 Rebounds), Thomas Bryant(9-12 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Russell Westbrook(8-11 Assists)-PROB, Jimmy Butler(6-8 Assists).

The Lakers are going nowhere despite the last two wins, yes, they imply a promising precedent but their problems are the same. For the Heat, things have been improving at a rapid rate, especially on the offensive end. The Lakers will be looking to get someone other than LeBron to put up great scoring numbers, something which hasn’t happened yet. I believe the Heat will take advantage of it and eke out a 123:112 win here.