Thursday, May 17th, 2012
Lebron James and his Miami Heat will travel on Christmas Day to hook up with Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers in an NBA pro basketball game on Saturday.
Tip off time from Staples Center in Los Angeles is scheduled for 5PM Eastern Time and its ABC providing the national television broadcast.
The point spread opened up with the home team LA Lakers favored by -3 points with an over under of 196 points.
Early money from the NBA wagering public has come on the side of the road underdog Miami Heat as the LA Lakers are now favored by -2 points. The total has not moved off the opening line of 196.
LA Lakers money line gamblers will lay -120 odds with the road underdog Miami Heat returning +100 odds to earn the outright victory without taking the points.
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The Miami Heat travels to Staples center for this much anticipated meeting with the LA Lakers on Christmas Day with an overall record of 22-9 on the season.
Offensively the Heat average 100 points per game ranking 12th in the league and hit on 47.3% of their field goals which ranks 5th in the NBA.
Miami’s recent form has been outstanding as the club are winners of 9 of their past 10 games. They bounced back well from their loss to Dallas on December 20th and in their last game they soundly defeated the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night 95-83 as a -5 point road favorite.
The Heat shot 45.1% from the field in victory but only 5 of 18 from the three point line. They were very good at the line making 16 of 17 shots.
Lebron James in 37 minutes hit on 13 of 22 shots for 36 points and 8 of 8 from the charity stripe.
Chris Bosh contributed with 23 points in 37 minutes on 9 of 17 shooting from the field.
Dwayne Wade was sporting a knee injury and did not play and is questionable against the Lakers.
Miami has played very well on defense as they are #1 in points allowed giving up 91 points and opponents field goal percentage at 42.4%.
The Suns were shooting the ball very well entering their home game with Miami but could only hit on 40% of their shots in defeat as the Heat played very well on defense.
The LA Lakers enters this home game with the Miami Heat with a record of 21-8 on the season.
The club averages 105 points per game ranking 6th in the league and hit on 46.3% of their shots sitting 12th in the NBA.
The Lakers have won 8 of their past 10 games. They came home on Tuesday December 21st concluding a long 7 game road trip and dropped a 98-79 home defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks as a -12 point favorite.
The Lakers shot 45.5% from the field against the Bucks and made just 7 of 13 from the line. The team struggled mightily from the three point line making just 2 of 13.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 21 points on 9 of 16 shooting from the field. Pau Gasol had 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting.
Derek Fisher was off his game with just 2 points on 1 of 6 from the field.
Shannon Brown led the Lakers off the bench with 9 points on 4 of 8 shooting.
Center Andrew Bynum returned to the team on December 14th as he recovered from off season knee surgery. He has averaged 17 minutes per game and will be a force under the basket.
Bynum’s presence on the defense end makes a huge impact for the team and it could be an issue for an undersized Heat team.
The Lakers are well rested for this Christmas Day home game and media reports indicate LA has prepared well for this game and will bring intensity here unlike the debacle last year against the Cavaliers on Christmas Day.
Defensively the Lakers give up 97.9 points per game sitting 15th in the league and 43.6% shooting which ranks 6th in the NBA.
The Lakers allowed the Milwaukee Bucks to hit on over 50% of their shots and 8 of 14 from the three point line. John Salmons led the Bucks with 20 points. Center Andrew Bogut hit on 7 of 9 shots for 15 points. Guard Earl Boykins off the bench sparked Milwaukee with 8 of 12 shooting and 4 of 5 from the three point line for 22 points.
Trend: Miami Heat are 7-1 ATS in their past 8 games.
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Tags: abc tv, betting, christmas day, december 25th 2010, la lakers, miami heat, nba, Odds, pick, preview, pro basketball, saturday
