Miami Heat at Los Angeles Lakers 10/2/20: NBA Basketball free preview, analysis, prediction, odds and pick against the spread.
2020-10-02 21:00:00 EDT
The Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat collide in a pivotal Game 2 of the NBA Finals at the AdventHealth Arena on Friday night.
The Miami Heat will be going back to the drawing board after getting absolutely dismantled by the Lakers in a 116-98 loss in Game 1 on Wednesday. Jimmy Butler led the team in scoring with 23 points and five assists despite rolling his ankle early in the game, Kendrick Nunn has hardly played at all since losing his starting spot, but he saw extended minutes and scored 18 points off the bench, while Tyler Herro chipped in with 14 points on six of 18 shooting. As a team, the Heat shot just 42 percent from the field and 11 of 35 from the 3-point line as they shot out of the gates to an early 13-point lead, but it didn’t last long as the Lakers responded with a couple of massive runs to put the game out of reach early. Goran Dragic finished with just six points in 15 minutes before leaving with a torn plantar fascia in his left foot, Butler sprained his ankle while Bam Adebayo scored just eight points before leaving the game with a left shoulder strain.
Meanwhile, the Los Angeles Lakers will be aiming to go up 2-0 in the series after taking care of business in a dominant win in Game 1. Anthony Davis led the team in scoring with 34 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three blocks, LeBron James racked up 25 points with 13 rebounds and nine assists, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 13 points while Danny Green chipped in with 11 points, two steals and three blocks. As a team, the Lakers shot 45 percent from the field and 15 of 38 from the 3-point line as they weathered the early storm, before they let loose with 11 3-pointers in the first half to lead by as many as 32 points in one of the most one-sided NBA Finals games in recent memory. The Lakers also outrebounded the Heat by 62-40 and didn’t slow down until the fourth quarter.
Looking at the betting trends, the Heat are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games as an underdog, 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games playing on one days rest and 12-4 ATS in their last 16 games overall. The Lakers are 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games as a favorite, 7-15-1 ATS in their last 23 NBA Finals games and 7-2-1 ATS in their last 10 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 10-1 in the last 11 meetings in Los Angeles and the under is 5-1 in the last six meetings overall.
The Heat need a win to avoid falling into a 2-0 series deficit, but they’re going to find it hard to be positive after getting blown off the floor on Wednesday. Dragic has been a key contributor for the Heat, but he will likely be replaced by Nunn who looked sharp in his short stint in Game 1. The Lakers won’t be looking to make many adjustments as they just about got every look they wanted in the paint and they caught fire from behind the arc while keeping a lid on every Heat player. Davis was unstoppable in his NBA Finals debut as the Heat had no answer for him, while LeBron finished one assist shy of a triple-double performance. I want to believe that the Heat can bounce back to level the series, but they were just so outmatched on Wednesday that they didn’t really find any rhythm until Nunn and Herro got hot during garbage time. Give me the Lakers to go up 2-0 in the series with another win and cover here.
