It’s the winter and once again LeBron James is flying down to South Beach as his Los Angeles Lakers continue their five-game road trip against a team that has been one of the biggest surprises in the NBA this season and is a franchise associated with the best basketball of LeBron’s career.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis each had major parts in the win for the Lakers in early November but the Heat have been playing even better over the last few weeks. While the Lakers have earned the benefit of the doubt more than any team in the league, the Heat’s gritty ethos on their home court makes them someone to fear.
As it stands, the Heat are 18-6 on the season and they’ve done an amazing job despite Jimmy Butler not being the alpha dog player everyone assumed he would be. Center Bam Adebayo is dishing assists like prime Bill Walton while also being one of the league’s most fearsome defenders. He locked down Pascal Siakam only nine days ago in Toronto, holding the dynamic scorer to 5 for 14 from the field and just 15 points.
New acquisition Meyers Leonard has provided some quality floor spacing and solid defensive rebounding at center while veteran guard Goran Dragic has been a shot in the arm off the bench on a nightly basis for Miami.
The Lakers have been running through teams over the last few weeks no matter where they are and with LeBron in a familiar environment, the location shouldn’t be a difficulty. What will be difficult is a Heat team that is playing well, playing together and playing seriously enough to give the Lakers a good game on South Beach.
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