Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 1/4/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers host the Miami Heat at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

The Heat stepped onto the hardwood against the Clippers and notched a win by a score of 110-100 in their last contest. Miami walked away from the contest with a 45.9% field goal percentage (39 out of 85) and converted 12 out of their 36 3-pointers. From the charity stripe, the Heat buried 20 of 24 tries for a rate of 83.3%. When discussing hauling in rebounds, they compiled a total of 48 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 22 dimes for the matchup while forcing the other team into 15 turnovers and getting 7 steals. In terms of the defense, Miami allowed the other team to shoot 43.3% from the floor on 29 out of 67 shooting. Los Angeles distributed 19 assists and had 7 steals in the game. Furthermore, Los Angeles collected 34 rebounds (3 offensive, 31 defensive) and added 2 blocks. Los Angeles ended up going 88.2% at the free throw line by making 30 of 34 shots. They knocked down 12 out of their 29 attempts from distance. When talking about personal fouls, the Heat ended up with 23 and the Clippers had 18 personal fouls.

Bam Adebayo is a guy who was a factor in this contest. He notched 31 points on 12 of 19 shooting. He saw the court for 37 minutes and grabbed 13 boards. Adebayo finished the game at 63.2% from the field and distributed 1 assist.

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Miami enters this one with a record of 20-18 for the year. They are averaging 109.0 points per contest (30th in the NBA) while shooting 45.4% from the floor. The Heat are connecting on 34.1% on three-point attempts (474 of 1,389) and 82.3% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Miami is pulling in 40.7 rebounds per contest and has accumulated 908 dimes for the year, which is 15th in the NBA in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 13.4 times per game and as a group they commit 19.4 fouls on a nightly basis.

Defensively, the Heat have forced 16.6 turnovers per contest while drawing 19.9 personal fouls. They currently rank 25th in the league in giving up assists with 974 conceded on the year. The Heat defensively are allowing a FG percentage of 47.6% (1,515 of 3,183) and they relinquish 43.2 rebounds per game as a team. They are giving up 37.0% from 3-point land while they are 3rd in the league in points per game from their opponents (109.4).

In their last game, the Lakers went home victorious with a score of 121-115 against the Hornets. The Lakers snagged 44 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 53 for the game. They turned it over 14 times, while earning 6 steals in the game. The Hornets committed 22 fouls in this game which took the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 30 shots. They were able to convert 21 of those for a rate of 70.0%. Pertaining to shooting from downtown, Los Angeles made 10 of 30 attempts (33.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Lakers finished shooting 45 for 93 from the floor which gave them a rate of 48.4%. The Lakers allowed the Hornets to convert 42 of 93 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 45.2% for the game. They finished the game shooting 34.4% from 3-point land by shooting 11 of 32 and finished the game at 20 of 29 at the free throw line (69.0%). With respect to cleaning the glass, Los Angeles permitted Charlotte to get 47 in all (8 on the offensive side).

LeBron James ended up having an impact for the Lakers in this matchup. James earned 43 points in his 40 minutes of playing time and had 6 dimes for this game. He buried 16 out of 26 in this matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 61.5%, and added 11 rebounds.

Los Angeles has a win-loss record of 16-21 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Lakers are shooting 48.2% from the field, which is ranked 8th in the league. Los Angeles has scored 4,296 points for the season (116.1 per contest) and they grab 45.1 boards per game. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 25.0 times per contest (13th in basketball) and they are giving up possession 14.8 times per contest. The Lakers are responsible for committing 18.5 personal fouls per game and they hit 79.6% from the free throw line.

The Los Angeles defense surrenders 34.8% on 3-pointers (468 of 1,346) and opponents are knocking down 75.6% of their free throw shots. They have given up 25.9 dimes and 45.5 total boards per game, which is ranked 24th and 26th in the NBA. The Lakers defensively are ranked 27th in the NBA in PPG given up with 117.6. They are able to force 12.8 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 47.2% from the floor (17th in the league).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Miami

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