LeBron James, Anthony Davis and the Los Angeles Lakers take on Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat on Sunday evening in Orlando. The Lakers and Heat square off in Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals, with the Lakers winning the first two games in the series. Miami will look for its first win with the potential of injury-related absences, as Bam Adebayo (neck) and Goran Dragic (foot) are officially listed as doubtful to play.
Game 3 of the 2020 NBA Finals is set to get underway at 7:30 p.m. ET. William Hill lists the Lakers as 9.5-point favorites, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 219.5 in the latest Lakers vs. Heat odds. Before you make any Heat vs. Lakers picks for Game 3, be sure to see the NBA predictions from SportsLine's proven computer model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times, and it's already returned over $5,000 in profit on its top-rated NBA picks this season. It entered the 2020 NBA Finals on a blistering 61-33 run on top-rated NBA spread picks, returning almost $2,500 on those picks alone. It's also a sizzling 11-3 on top-rated picks since the NBA's restart in July. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Lakers vs. Heat. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NBA odds from William Hill and trends for Heat vs. Lakers:
- Lakers vs. Heat spread: Lakers -9.5
- Lakers vs. Heat over-under: 219.5 points
- Lakers vs. Heat money line: Lakers -475, Heat +380
- LAL: The Lakers are 6-2-2 against the spread in the last 10 games
- MIA: The Heat are 5-4-1 against the spread in the last 10 games
Why the Lakers can cover
No team has a more potent duo in the NBA than the Lakers, with James and Davis stuffing the stat sheet on a nightly basis. James is averaging 27.0 points, 10.4 rebounds and 8.9 assists per game in the playoffs, with Davis adding 29.3 points, 9.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game in the postseason.
That pairing leads the Lakers to an elite level on both ends of the court. The Lakers enter Sunday's Game 3 averaging 114.6 points per game on offense in the postseason. Los Angeles scored 124 points in Game 2, with five players scoring in double figures. Defensively, the Lakers are giving up just 106.5 points per game in the playoffs. In addition, the Lakers enter Sunday's showdown having won 10 of their last 11 games.
Why the Heat can cover
While the Heat haven't been operating at full strength, Butler remains a star-level player. Butler is averaging 24.0 points, 9.0 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game so far in the series, and he also gives Miami a two-way presence with his strong defense. On the whole, the Heat are one of the best offensive teams in the playoffs, scoring 1.13 points per possession, and that has continued against the Lakers.
In fact, Miami boasts an impressive 70.3 percent assist rate against Los Angeles, and the Heat are generating 2.89 assists for every turnover in the series. Defensively, Miami has its hands full, but the Heat can take solace in their bevy of shooters, leading to a team-wide true shooting percentage of 58.9 percent in the postseason.
How to make Lakers vs. Heat picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with Kyle Kuzma projected to fall short of his season-long scoring average and the Heat projected to operate without two top scorers. It also says one side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time. You can only get the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Heat vs. Lakers? And which side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Lakers vs. Heat spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up over $5,000 on its top-rated NBA picks this season, and find out.
