Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Lakers Game 2 Betting Preview
Game 1 of the NBA Finals went well if you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers cruised to a comfortable victory, putting them within three wins of an NBA championship. However, the Miami Heat won’t go down without a fight, as they look to even up the series Friday night in Orlando.
Here is our preview for Game 2 of the NBA Finals, along with a series recap and free pick. Los Angeles, who originally opened up as seven-point favorites, are now as high as -9.5 on the spread and -480 on the moneyline. The game tips off at 9:00 PM Eastern Friday night on ABC.
Series Recap
Playing in his first NBA Finals game, Anthony Davis was the star of the show. The big man dropped 34 points to go along with nine rebounds and three blocks as the Lakers went on to win 116-98.
L.A. found themselves down early, as the Heat hit their first five three-pointers to take a 23-10 lead. From the point, the Lakers went on a massive run that lasted until the fourth quarter; they out-scored Miami 83-44 in that stretch, and at one time, were up by 32 points during the third quarter. A big reason was L.A.’s record-setting three-point shooting, hitting 15-of-38 threes while also shooting 93 percent as a team from the free-throw line.
While Davis was the Lakers’ primary scorer, many others contributed as well. LeBron James had 25 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists in the first game of his tenth NBA Finals appearance. A trio of guards (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Alex Caruso) all scored in double-figures as well, with Green hitting a team-high three triples.
As for Miami, Jimmy Butler led the team with 23 points in 33 minutes. However, Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic, the Heat’s other two primary scorers this postseason, both exited the game with injuries. Both players are listed as doubtful for Game 2. Kendrick Nunn filled in nicely for the injured Dragic, scoring 18 points in 19 minutes, while rookie sensation Tyler Herro also had 14 points.
Keys to Victory
Miami will win if: They shut down every Laker not named LeBron or A.D. In the 2004 NBA Finals, the Detroit Pistons managed to pull off the huge upset of the Lakers by realizing that Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal were going to get their points no matter what. Rather than trying to shut them down, the Pistons instead limited the effectiveness of every other player on L.A.’s roster, making it impossible for two players alone to win the series.
That’s more or less what the Heat will have to do at this point. The injuries to Adebayo and Dragic will severely limit them offensively, while the Lakers have two superstars and a deep team that was brilliant on Wednesday. Miami will let Davis and James get their points, but the Heat can make it a game if they can close out on shooters like Green and Pope, and get bigs like Dwight Howard in foul trouble early. The more the Heat can make the Lakers a two-man team, the better off they’ll be.
Los Angeles will win if: They continue to attack inside. The big story of Game 1 was the barrage of three-point shots the Lakers shot successfully, but in reality, running their offense through Davis and others down near the post will need to be the game-plan.
First off, the loss of Adebayo takes away the Heat’s best defender down low, so the Lakers will look to take advantage and dominate the paint. Second, attacking the interior will open things up for the shooters like Green and Caldwell-Pope. While it’s unlikely we see the same performance from three as we did in Game 1, the Lakers should still manage plenty of open looks.
Betting Pick
Simply put, many things need to break Miami’s way for them to steal Game 2 outright. If guys like Herro and Nunn can explode offensively, perhaps they can cover the 9.5 points. But they don’t see to have an answer for L.A., who’s healthy and who completely overmatched them in Game 1. I like the Lakers and, assuming Adebayo and Dragic don’t play, I like the points.
Pick: Lakers -9.5
