NBA Predictions: Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers 1/6/17

Heat vs. Lakers Prediction

Which struggling team will come away with a win and a cover tonight when the L.A. Lakers host the Miami Heat at 10:30PM ET?

According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Lakers are favored at home tonight, as they are getting odds of -2.5 points against the Heat. The over/under total for the contest is listed at 213 points. Miami won the first meeting this season at Miami. The Heat are 8-1 in their last nine against the Lakers, but L.A. is 4-3 against the spread in the last seven meetings.

Bet on Heat vs. Lakers

Miami snapped a six-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 107-102 win at Sacramento to move to 11-26 on the season. The Heat are 18-19 against the spread in the process, but they are a very banged-up team. Hassan Whiteside has missed the last three games with an eye injury while Justise Winslow is out for the season with a torn labrum. Whiteside averages 17.3 points, 14.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game for Miami while Winslow was averaging 10.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. Goran Dragic is the team leader with 19 points and 6.8 assists per game. He leads a Miami team that is putting up just 98.4 points per game on offense, while the defense is allowing just 101.8 points per contest.

The Lakers are coming off a 109-118 loss to the Blazers on the road for their eighth loss in 10 games. Los Angeles is now 13-26 on the season and 17-21-1 against the spread. The Lakers put up 104.6 points per game on offense while giving up 110.4 points per game, which ranks among the worst defenses in the NBA. Louis Williams has been leading the team off the bench by averaging 18 points per game. D’Angelo Russell is adding 15.5 points and 4.5 assists per contest. The team could be without Luol Deng, who averaging 7.9 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for the Lakers. Deng has a bicep injury that kept him out of their last game.

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Despite a poor record this season, Miami is actually respectable on the road. The Heat are 11-8 on the road this year and playing a Los Angeles team that is sub-.500 at home. Miami could be getting some bodies back tonight while the Lakers could be without Deng. I like the Heat to find a way to win and cover on the road as they stay tough away from Miami.

 

NBA DAILY PREDICTION: MIAMI HEAT +2.5