GAME PREVIEW: Miami Heat take on the visiting LA Lakers in 2020 Finals rematch

Heat
The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers met in the 2020 NBA Finals.

After a much needed 121-114 bounce back win in Miami’s game against the Washington Wizards on Friday evening, the squad will now take on LeBron James and the visiting LA Lakers.

Gabe Vincent, although listed as OUT tonight with a knee injury, will be returning to South Beach. Former Heatle in James will also run it back in his old arena against his former team.

These two teams matched up in the 2020 NBA Finals and four years later are still legit contenders in this association.

The in-season tournament win on Friday for the Heat had lots of bright sides to talk about. They snapped their 4 game losing streak and improved to 2-4 on the season.

The entire team collectively shot the ball super efficiently- 60% from the field overall along with 48% from 3 point range. They also won the rebound battle 37-30.

The big 3 of Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and new team captain Bam Adebayo played extremely well.

Herro is proving to be more of a well-rounded player as each game goes by; 1 single assist shy of a triple double to go along with 24 PTS and continues to get into those passing lanes, upping his two-way stock.

Duncan Robinson was huge off the bench with 18 PTS and 4 3’s. Thomas Bryant, Josh Richardson and Jaime Jaquez Jr. brought some energy as well.

Haywood Highsmith, who started as the PF in that game went down after a knee collision early in the game. However, he is not listed on the injury report for tonight.

It will be interesting to see if Highsmith, who has played exceptionally well and shooting the ball at a career high clip, will continue to be the starter.

Kevin Love has been filling that spot, and he has played well too.

Tonight, the guys need to focus on winning that rebounding battle again and taking care of Anthony Davis on the glass.

James is obviously someone else who needs to be held in check, and not allow him to control the flow of the game.

Tonight’s 2020 Finals rematch will tip off at 7:30 PM ET and be nationally televised on NBA TV.

Injury Report (at the time of this publishing):

Miami Heat:

  • Caleb Martin (knee) — OUT
  • Jimmy Butler (knee) — Probable
  • Duncan Robinson (wrist) — Probable
  • RJ Hampton (stomach illness) — Questionable

LA Lakers:

  • Jarred Vanderbilt (heel) — OUT
  • Gabe Vincent (knee) — OUT
  • Rui Hachimura (concussion) — OUT
  • Jalen Hood-Schifino (patella) — OUT
  • Jaxson Hayes (ankle) — Questionable

Projected Starting 5:

Miami Heat:

  • Kyle Lowry, G
  • Tyler Herro, G
  • Jimmy Butler, F
  • Kevin Love, F
  • Bam Adebayo, C

LA Lakers:

  • D’Angelo Russell, G
  • Austin Reaves , G
  • Cam Reddish, F
  • LeBron James, F
  • Anthony Davis, F/C

Betting Lines (at the time of this publishing):

Broadcast Info:

  • Tipoff: 7:30 PM EST
  • TV: NBA TV & Bally Sports Sun (Eric Reid, John Crotty)
  • Radio: AM 560 Sports WQAM & The HEAT Radio Network (Jason Jackson)
  • Spanish Radio: WAQI 710 AM & The HEAT Spanish Radio Network (José Pañeda)

Come back to Hot Hot Hoops at game time to join our GameThread and chat about the game live with other Heat fans!

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ManilaHeat

Heat ftw. That’s all I have for now 😁😄

SunManFromDogBone

Fansided 11/6/23
Eastern Conference power rankings: How far have the Heat fallen?
8. Miami Heat (Last: 5)
Record: 2-4
ORTG: 107.2 (25th); DRTG: 110.9 (16th); NET: -3.7 (21st)
The Heat lost four straight games and were a Cade Cunningham missed 3-pointer on opening night away from starting the season 0-5 before Friday night’s bounceback home win against the Wizards. The Heat are hoping for that was a get-right game ahead of Monday’s showcase against the Lakers. Tyler Herro has been scorching the court to start the season but the Heat need more from Jimmy Butler, who is averaging 17.2 points on 40.3% shooting.

Last edited 8 months ago by SunManFromDogBone
vagibugi

LAL will want this one too. A good, solid win would be great for a long trip ahead.

SunManFromDogBone

Time for Heat to quit f***ing around and get down to business. Reduce unforced turnovers, play tighter defense, share the ball/find open man, play aggressively on offense/get to free throw line (Bam, Butler, Herro, Jaquez, Lowry), hit open 3’s. Hopefully, RJ gets some time on court. I would like to see Jaquez handle ball more.
GO HEAT!!!

heat for life

lowry get to the line lol buffet line yes

heat for life

how bout lowry get to the unemployment line sunman .how come the two youngens who impressed me the most spo doesnt play rj and jovic .man he frustrates me with his personnel moves.love demotion deserved kyle demotion needs to happen asap hes done watch him do nothing on the ct eric what r u seeing in him

2qbn

You rip Duncan for no defense but rip Spo because Jovic has no defense. Got it 😉

heat for life

ok dunc has def shown us stuff he didnt for 4 years nice to see.hes a hustler never stops moving but is just so bad on d really hurts us. havent seen jovic enough know about his d.looks big and prob slow but hes a big boy can dribble like a guard rebound like a center shoot good to why not give him run.very intriguing player.nobody here(hhh) can say he suks on d yet.id give him pt over dunc my opinion

2qbn

Guess who has seen him a bunch over the last year +? Yeah, his coach

Reality czech

Lol! Over Duncan? Duncan is playing some of the best ball of his career right now. I’d like to see Jovic get some minutes, but not over Duncan. Having a deep roster is both a blessing and a curse. With your current top 9 being Bam, Butler, Herro, along with Lowry and Highsmith, then Bryant, Jaquez , Duncan, & Martin. That leaves Love, Richardson, O Robinson, Jovic, and Smith. Minutes will be tough to come by, especially for those last 3. And I’m not even counting the 2-ways.

Bout30man

Hope they can quit the effing around. Tonite will be an interesting measuring stick type game. Lakers depth a little short tonite. We are only missing Caleb (who we really miss badly). But still, no excuses.

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