Heat vs Lakers Prediction

Los Angeles Lakers (18-17) vs Miami Heat (19-14)

Game Info: Wednesday, January 3, 2024 at 10:00 pm (Crypto.com Arena)

Betting Odds: Los Angeles Lakers -6.5 -- Over/Under: 226.5

The Miami Heat look for a win after winning 7 of their last 11 games. The Los Angeles Lakers need a win after losing 7 of their last 9 games. Let’s preview this game and give out a Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers prediction.

Miami Heat Betting Preview

The Miami Heat beat the Warriors last week, but they’re coming off losses to the Jazz and Clippers. The Miami Heat are averaging 113 points on 47 percent shooting and allowing 112 points on 48.1 percent shooting. Tyler Herro is averaging 23.4 points and 5.5 rebounds, while Bam Adebayo is averaging 22 points and 10.4 rebounds. Jimmy Butler is the third double-digit scorer and Duncan Robinson is grabbing 2.8 rebounds. The Miami Heat are shooting 38.8 percent from beyond the arc and 82.4 percent from the free throw line. The Miami Heat are allowing 37.1 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41.4 rebounds per game.

Miami Heat Player Facts

• Tyler Herro ranks T10th amongst qualified players for three-pointers made Per Game (3.3) this season.
• Kyle Lowry ranks 14th amongst qualified players for 3P% (43.5%) this season.

Los Angeles Lakers Betting Preview

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Hornets, but they’re coming off losses to the Timberwolves and Pelicans. The Los Angeles Lakers are averaging 114.2 points on 48.5 percent shooting and allowing 114.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting. LeBron James is averaging 25.4 points and 7.4 rebounds, while Anthony Davis is averaging 25 points and 12.3 rebounds. Austin Reaves is the third double-digit scorer and D’Angelo Russell is grabbing 2.9 rebounds. The Los Angeles Lakers are shooting 35.7 percent from beyond the arc and 77.1 percent from the free throw line. The Los Angeles Lakers are allowing 37.7 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 43.6 rebounds per game.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Lakers rank 30th in the league for Q1 opponent points per game this season (31.8).
• The Lakers rank 2nd in the league for opponent free throws made per game this season (15.3).
• The Heat rank 30th in the league for blocks per game this season (3.3).
• The Heat rank 2nd in the league for opponent offensive rebounds per game this season (9.4).

Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers prediction

The Los Angeles Lakers need to figure out how to win games again before they can start laying these sorts of numbers. However, the Heat are banged up with Butler, Highsmith and Martin out. Richardson is questionable. That's a lot of banged up wings for Miami, and that's not what you want to see when going up against AD and LeBron. The Heat didn't look good on Monday against the Clippers. I'll lay the reasonable number with the Lakers at home.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.