LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers will look to win their seventh straight game as they take on Jimmy Butler and the surprising Miami Heat.
The Lakers are coming off an extremely successful road trip in which they went 3-0 including an impressive overtime victory against the Dallas Mavericks, a wire-to-wire solid win over the San Antonio Spurs, and a double-digit comeback win over the Chicago Bulls.
In each one of those games, James notched a triple-double, making history in each game by doing so. After Davis won NBA Player of the Week, it seems James might be a lock to do so this time around. Another great performance against the Heat would solidify that.
However, the Heat are no easy task. Projected to be a mid-tier Eastern Conference team, they have come flying out of the gate led by Butler and a host of great role players.
Despite the good start, the Heat will be significantly shorthanded against the Lakers. Dion Waiters, Justise Winslow, Derrick Jones Jr., and KZ Okpala will not play.
On the Lakers side, Rajon Rondo will miss his eighth straight game to start the season with that undisclosed calf strain. However, Avery Bradley will play and start.
For this game, the Lakers cannot get off to yet another one of their slow starts. They’ve been able to weather the storm so far, but the Heat are home to a top-five defensive rating and a top-five net rating in the league, so it may be harder to come back against a team with that resume. If they get off to a slow start, they can’t take three quarters to recover.
The Lakers will need to get through a relatively tough three-game stretch against the Heat, Toronto Raptors, and Phoenix Suns before their schedule significantly lightens up.
Hopefully, the Lakers can combine their two full days rest with being back at home and take care of business against a scrappy opponent.
If they come out of the gate slow, they may be in for a long night.
Los Angeles Lakers (6-1) vs. Miami Heat (6-2)
7:30 P.M. PT, Nov. 8, 2019
Staples Center, Los Angeles, California
TV: NBATV, Spectrum SportsNet
Radio: 710 AM (ESPN), 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Projected Lakers Starting Lineup:
PG: LeBron James
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Danny Green
PF: Anthony Davis
C: JaVale McGee
Key Reserves: Kyle Kuzma, Dwight Howard, Alex Caruso, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Quinn Cook
Projected Heat Starting Lineup:
PG: Goran Dragic
SG: Kendrick Nunn
SF: Jimmy Butler
PF: Bam Adebayo
C: Meyers Leonard
Key Reserves: Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Kelly Olynyk, James Johnson