The Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers square off this Thursday for a rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals. Will the Heat come away with a W after this meeting? Or, will the Lakers score back-to-back victories?

Catch this game live on Thursday, November 11, at 11 AM, Manila time

Away: Miami Heat (7-3/3-2 on the road)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Kyle Lowry
  • SG: Duncan Robinson
  • SF: Jimmy Butler
  • PF: PJ Tucker (questionable)
  • C: Bam Adebayo (questionable)

The Heat have cooled off a bit of late, but make no mistake about it: this Miami team is still very dangerous for any opponent. Miami started the season like a house on fire, racking up six wins in their first seven games, but have lost two of their last three. Last Tuesday, the Heat kicked off a five-game road trip with a 113-96 loss to the Denver Nuggets. That’s a game Kyle Lowry surely would love to erase from his memory, as he went scoreless with a minus-20 by the end of the contest. 

Bam Adebayo also would like a redo after scoring just 10 points, though he had 10 rebounds. Adebayo is questionable after hurting his knee in the Nuggets game, but it doesn’t look serious enough for the Heat to sit him out this Thursday. The constant for Miami is Jimmy Butler, who dropped 31 points in Denver. After failing to score 100 points for the second time in three games, Miami, which is 6-2 ATS in its last eight outings, will look to take advantage of the Lakers’ defense that’s allowing 112.4 points per game — 28th overall.

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Home: Los Angeles Lakers (6-5/5-3 at home)

Projected Starting Five:

  • PG: Russell Westbrook
  • SG: Avery Bradley
  • SF: Kent Bazemore
  • PF: Anthony Davis (probable)
  • C: DeAndre Jordan

Who knew that the Lakers would be getting this much from Carmelo Anthony? Melo came off the bench in the Lakers’ 126-123 overtime win at home over the Charlotte Hornets Tuesday and exploded for 29 points on the strength of a 7-of-10 line from deep. With LeBron James out due to an ab strain, Anthony’s offense will be very much needed by a Lakers to keep Miami’s stout defense constantly challenged. 

Anthony Davis is labeled probable because of a thumb issue, but expect him to be out there this Thursday after he stuffed the stat sheets with 32 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three steals, and five blocks against the Hornets. Adebayo will have his hands full keeping up with AD.  Davis, Russell Westbrook, and Anthony will make up the bulk of the Lakers’ attack versus the Heat. Despite a bad scoring defense, the Lakers have limited opposing teams to only 41.3 FG% and 31.9 3FG% over their last three games. The Lakers are also 2-1 ATS in their last three games against the Heat.

PREDICTIONS:

Spread: The whole Markieff Morris-Nikola Jokic situation could galvanize the Heat. Take the Heat to cover (-4).

Over/Under: The Heat and the Lakers have struggled to hit their scoring averages of late. Take the Under (213.5)