Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers: NBA Previews, odds and Predictions

The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Miami Heat at Florida's Kaseya Centre on Thursday morning, seeking a victory to get back on track.

At 9-10, Miami is in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, while Los Angeles is in eighth place in the West with a record of 12-9.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

After losing 108-89 on the road to the Boston Celtics on Tuesday, the Miami Heat will be looking to avoid a third consecutive loss in this game. They have split their previous ten games, winning five and losing five.

No other Miami player scored double figures despite 19 points from Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyler Herro, 15 from Bam Adebayo, and 10 from Haywood Highsmith.

Dru Smith scored eight points to lead the Heat, while Payton Pritchard scored twenty-five points after coming off the bench for the C's. This loss made it clear that the Heat need more production from their bench players to compete with the best teams.

After a three-game winning streak and a one-loss skid away from home, Erik Spoelstra's squad will return to their usual haunt, where they should feel more confident after sweeping the Lakers in their past two meetings.

The Heat are now 8-11-0 ATS and are 21st in the league in scoring (110.1 PPG), while they are sixth in the NBA in defense (100.8 PPG).

In the meantime, the Lakers' recent hot streak has cooled down, and they come into this game off Tuesday's 109-80 away loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Anthony Davis added 12 points and 11 rebounds, D'Angelo Russell topped the team with 20 points and five assists, Rui Hachimura and LeBron James scored double figures, and James added eight assists.

Even though they were playing on the tail end of a back-to-back, the Lakers could not sustain their momentum in the fourth quarter and ultimately lost by a score of 30-16.

James, who was 0-for-4 from outside the arc and 4-for-16 overall, acknowledged the team's offensive struggles after the game and said they've been concentrating too much on defense.

The Lakers, who were +5.5 favorites before the game, fell to 17th in the league in scoring with an average of 112.3 points per game after losing the game and falling to 8-13-0 against the spread.

Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers Team News

With a left ankle injury that sidelined him for four games last month and right knee pain that kept him out of the loss to the Celts, Jimmy Butler is now considered doubtful to play in next week's game against the Lakers.

After missing the last game due to sickness, Kel'el Ware to right foot tendinitis, Kevin Love to back spasms, and Nikola Jovic to left ankle sprain, Butler would become the latest player to miss a game due to injury if he is unable to recover in time for tip-off.

Davis appeared in the Lakers' most recent game, but due to his ongoing left foot problem, he will likely be labeled probable for most games going forward.

Because of a left pelvic injury, Austin Reaves is questionable for both games this week. Russell may get additional playing time if Reaves misses this match.

Our Predictions

Los Angeles to win @ 2.07 on Sky247.ng.

Key absences may decide this match, so looking at lineups before tip-off is important. The Heat, meanwhile, will likely be without Butler, and they have struggled to win games without their All-Star this season.

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