Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat Predictions, Picks, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

5 minute read

Nationally televised NBA coverage will resume Sunday evening with a compelling non-conference matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat. Coverage begins from FTX Arena at 6:00 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

SCORE PREDICTION

Heat 112, Lakers 102

BEST BETS

Heat -4 (-110) at DraftKings

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT PREDICTIONS

After finishing seventh in the West with a record of 42-30 SU last year, Los Angeles kept that same ball rolling with another pedestrian start to this season, as the Lakers opened with a lackluster 10-11 SU and 7-14 ATS skid – which was primarily chalked up to growing pains from the groundbreaking acquisition of Russell Westbrook.

Los Angeles has maintained a similarly deficient pace throughout January as well though, considering the Lakers enter Sunday’s contest sitting just 13-12 SU and 12-13 ATS across the last 25 games – yet the oddsmakers seemingly still have faith in them, considering they were favored in 19 of those affairs.

On the other hand, Miami stormed out to an excellent start to the season, as the Heat kicked things off with a triumphant 11-5 SU and 12-4 ATS run – with nine of those SU victories coming by 10+ PTS.

After a brief nine-game lull to open December though (3-6 SU, 2-7 ATS), Miami seemingly steered itself right back on course, considering the Heat sit 15-6 SU and 13-8 ATS across their last 21 games – despite getting tagged as underdogs in nine of those contests.

I’ll back Miami at home here, as the Lakers sit just 2-4 SU and ATS across their last six games, having scored 104 PTS or less in half of those contests – setting the stage for another unfavorable matchup against a Heat squad that’s tallied 112 PPG across their current 6-2 SU and ATS run.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT BETTING ODDS

More Odds | Futures Odds

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT BETTING RESOURCES

• Matchup: Pacific vs. Southeast
• Date: Sunday, January 23, 2022
• Venue: FTX Arena
• Location: Miami, Florida
• TV-Time: NBATV - 6:00 p.m. ET
• Injury Report

LOS ANGELES LAKERS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 23-23
• ATS: 19-27
• O/U: 25-20-1

Regardless of the circumstances, hovering below .500 is a disappointment for this new-look Lakers’ squad, but to be fair, they’ve been banged up from the start, so it’s tough to write them off completely, considering LeBron James has already missed 12 games this year – while AD has missed 19, and still slated to miss additional time with an MCL sprain.

Despite their shortcomings, the Lakers tread at seventh in the West with a record of 23-23 SU, positioning them in the middle of a tight cluster with the Mavericks (26-20), Nuggets (23-21), Clippers (23-24) and Timberwolves (22-23).

There’s still plenty of time for the Lakers to turn things around and push for a higher seed; they just need to get healthy first – and ultimately, shoot the ball better, considering L. A. currently ranks 23rd in offensive efficiency and 14th in three-point percentage (1.056 OE, 35.1% 3FG).

MIAMI HEAT BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 29-17
• ATS: 27-19
• O/U: 27-19

After finishing sixth in the East with a record of 40-32 SU last year, the Heat made some dramatic changes during the offseason to better suit needs at the offensive end, as Miami shipped off Goran Dragic and Precious Achiuwa to Toronto in exchange for All-Star point guard Kyle Lowry through a blockbuster deal.

At first, the acquisition worked out flawlessly, as Miami kicked off the year with a solid 11-5 SU and 12-4 ATS run – with the Heat’s only ATS losses coming in tough matchups against the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets, and Celtics.

The depth Miami sacrificed in order to acquire Lowry was temporarily exposed around Thanksgiving though, as rotating health and safety concerns spiraled Miami into a brief 3-6 SU and 2-7 ATS skid – but depth hasn’t been much of an issue recently, considering the Heat sit 15-6 SU across their last 21 games.

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT HEAD-TO-HEAD

After falling to L. A. in a six-game NBA Finals set in 2020, the Heat bounced back with victories in both regular-season matchups against the Lakers last year, with both matchups staying under the total at an average of 202 PPG. The most recent matchup between these teams took place in November of this season though, which resulted in a thrilling overtime victory for the Lakers at Staples Center (120-117) – despite the absence of King James.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

• LAL: LeBron James - SF (28.9 PPG, 7.6 REB, 6.4 AST)
• LAL: Russell Westbrook - PG (18.5 PPG, 8 REB, 7.8 AST)
• MIA: Jimmy Butler - SF (21.4 PPG, 5.9 REB, 5.9 AST)
• MIA: Bam Adebayo - C (18.7 PPG, 10 REB, 3.2 AST)

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT BETTING CONCLUSION

After dropping a heartbreaker in Atlanta on Friday night (L, 110-108), the Heat return to FTX Arena for Sunday’s contest as four-point home favorites over the visiting Lakers – marking just the third time L. A. has been an underdog across the last ten games.

I’ll back the Heat at home here, as Miami is 11-4 SU and 9-6 ATS across the last 15 games, while racking up 112 PPG offensively on allowing 104 PPG defensively during that timeframe – which doesn’t bode well for a Lakers squad that’s surrendered 110+ PTS defensively 11 times across their current 10-11 SU skid (113 PPG).

LOS ANGELES LAKERS VS. MIAMI HEAT BETTING TRENDS

• The Lakers are 9-4 SU in their last 13 matchups against Miami.
• The total has gone OVER in ten of the last 15 Heat' games.
• The Lakers are 2-4 ATS in their last six games.
• The Heat are 7-2 ATS in their last nine games.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson