Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 2/20/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Saturday, February 20, 2021

Location: STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, CA

TV: ABC

Odds/Point Spread: Miami (+5)

The Miami Heat (12-17) travel to STAPLES Center on Saturday where they'll take on the Los Angeles Lakers (22-8). The odds on this game have Los Angeles as 5-point favorites. The total has been set at 214.

The Miami Heat took the court against the Sacramento Kings and took home the win by a score of 118-110 in their last contest. Miami finished the game having earned a 51.6% FG percentage (49 of 95) and buried 12 of their 34 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Heat made 8 of 10 shots for a percentage of 80.0%. In the matter of rebounding, they collected 45 with 8 of them being offensive. They also doled out 36 assists for the contest in addition to earning 8 steals and 2 blocked shots. In terms of the defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 46.2% from the field on 43 out of 93 shooting. Sacramento distributed 29 dimes and had 7 steals for this game. Furthurmore, the Kings collected 44 boards (13 offensive, 31 defensive) and had 3 rejections. Sacramento finished the contest at 56.3% from the free throw line by knocking down 9 of their 16 shots. They also buried 15 of 41 attempts from long range.

Kelly Olynyk is a player who played a role for the game. He left the arena with 22 points on 10 out of 16 shooting. He was on the court for 23:34 minutes and pulled down 7 rebounds. Olynyk finished the game shooting 62.5% from the floor and recorded 2 dimes. Someone else that was a determining factor in this contest for the Heat was Duncan Robinson. He collected 2 rebounds and accounted for 3 assists. He shot 53.8% from the floor in the game by shooting 7-of-13 (20 points). In all, Robinson played for 33:39 minutes.

Miami enters this contest with a record of 12-17 for the season. The Heat are hitting 35.2% on three-point attempts (376 of 1,067) and 78.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 107.2 points per game (27th in the league) while hitting 46.5% from the field. They cough up possession 16.5 times per game and as a group they are committing 19.7 personal fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Miami is pulling down 42.3 rebounds per game and has accounted for 751 assists on the year, which has them ranked 6th in basketball in terms of passing. On the defensive end, the Heat are able to force 15.1 turnovers every game while drawing 20.9 personal fouls. The Heat defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 45.0% (437 of 605) and they relinquish 44.1 rebounds per contest as a basketball team. They rank 21st in the league in allowing assists to the opposition with 738 relinquished on the year. They surrender 37.1% on 3-point attempts while they are 7th in the league in PPG allowed (110.5).

In their last game, the Los Angeles Lakers took a loss by a final score of 109-98 when they played the Brooklyn Nets. The Lakers were able to pull down 29 defensive rebounds and 10 offensive rebounds for a total of 39 for this contest. They rejected 4 tries while earning 7 steals for the game. The Nets committed 18 personal fouls in the matchup which got the Lakers to the charity stripe for a total of 14 tries. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throw tries for a clip of 71.4%. In terms of 3-pointers, Los Angeles knocked down 8 out of 30 attempts (26.7%). Overall, the Lakers went 40 for 83 from the field which gave them a percentage of 48.2%. The Lakers allowed the Nets to bury 38 of 77 tries from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 49.4% for this contest. They shot 46.2% from distance by shooting 18 of 39 and finished the game at 15 of 24 at the free throw line (62.5%). With respect to attacking the glass, Los Angeles permitted Brooklyn to collect 39 in total (8 on the offensive glass).

LeBron James ended up being a major contributor for the Lakers for the matchup. He buried 14 out of 23 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 60.9%, which got him 32 points. James snagged 8 boards in his 32:59 minutes of playing time and had 7 assists in this game. An additional guy that ended up playing a role for Los Angeles was Kyle Kuzma. He ended up with 16 points in his 34:11 minutes played via 7 out of 13 from the floor in the game. Kuzma walked away from this one going 53.8% from the field while contributing 2 assists and 10 total rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 22-8 on the campaign. When it comes to offensive execution, the Lakers are shooting 48.7% from the field, which ranks them 3rd in the league. Los Angeles has accounted for 3,371 pts on the season (112.4 per contest) and they pull in 45.3 rebounds per game. They are earning an assist 24.8 times per game (17th in the NBA) and they are turning it over 15.2 times per game. The Lakers commit 18.5 personal fouls every game and they shoot 75.0% from the charity stripe. The Lakers on the defensive side of the court are 2nd in the league in PPG surrendered with 105.9. They are forcing their opponents into 14.5 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 45.0% from the field (5th in the NBA). The Los Angeles defense allows 35.2% on three-point shots (346 of 982) and opponents are making 76.3% of their free throw shots. They have allowed 24.7 dimes and 41.4 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 15th and 2nd in the league.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Los Angeles (-5)

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