The Los Angeles Lakers try to sweep the season series with the Miami Heat when the teams meet for the second time in 2021-22 on Sunday. The opening tip for this contest is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET at FTX Arena in Miami.
The Lakers have won two of their last three to reach .500, including a road win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night. Los Angeles is 23-23 and in third place in the Pacific Division, sitting 10 games behind the second-place Golden State Warriors and a half-game ahead of the fourth-place LA Clippers.
Miami is coming off a two-point loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night that snapped a two-game winning streak. The Heat are 29-17 and lead the Southeast Division by three games over the second-place Charlotte Hornets.
If you want to bet online on this matchup, the NBA lines have the Heat as four-point favorites at home, with the over/under for the game set at 217 points.
Possible Return
The headlines for the Lakers heading into this matchup are that All-Star forward Anthony Davis has been upgraded to questionable. Davis has been out for the past five weeks with a sprained MCL suffered against the Minnesota Timberwolves but is a game-time decision.
Los Angeles has gone 7-9 in the 16 games that Davis has sat out. Getting Davis back would be a big lift for the Lakers as he’s averaging 23.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 1.2 steals this season.
In Davis’ absence, LeBron James has been upping his production and playing some center at times. James is currently second in the NBA in scoring at 28.9 points per game, though he’s upped that to 31.0 points over the last 10 games. He’s also dealing with an abdomen injury that has him listed as probable for this game, and it’s hard to see him not playing against his former team in this one.
“He’s the most unique player in the history of the game,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said of James after Friday’s win. “We won a championship with him playing point guard two years ago, he’s been a ball-handling wing throughout his career, and he’s been playing center for us. It’s pretty remarkable, and for him to be doing it at this stage of his career, it’s even more remarkable.”
Guard Russell Westbrook was benched for the last few minutes of the Lakers’ loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, but he responded with 18 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals in Friday’s win over Orlando. For all the struggles he’s had at times in his first season in Los Angeles, Westbrook is still averaging 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Personnel Issues
Just when the Heat seemed to be getting healthy with the return of center Bam Adebayo, they’re dealing with a number of other players out of the lineup for various reasons. Starting point guard Kyle Lowry is definitely out for this game for personal reasons, guard Tyler Herro has missed the last two games due to being in the league’s COVID-19 protocols, and forward Markieff Morris is out due to conditioning.
Adebayo has played well in the three games he’s played since sitting out for six weeks following thumb surgery. The center has averaged 18.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.7 blocks over that span, providing some much-needed production in the post.
Forward Jimmy Butler’s scoring has been down a bit lately, as he’s scored a total of 17 points over the last two games. But he’s been contributing in many other ways as well this season, averaging 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, and 1.9 steals.
The shooting of guard Duncan Robinson will be a key in this matchup. Robinson is coming off a 19-point performance in the loss to Atlanta on Friday night, hitting 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. He’d shot just 24.2% from 3-point range in the previous five games, so the Heat are hoping Friday’s game is the start of a new trend.
Lakers Keep It Close
The Heat are struggling to put together lineups lately, while the Lakers are starting to get healthy. If Davis is able to go, the Lakers could win this one outright, but even without him, they should keep this one close.
When making your NBA picks, take the Lakers to cover on the road.
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