Struggling teams Miami Heat (11-26) and Los Angeles Lakers (13-26) square off at the Staples Center on Friday, Jan. 6 as the 2016-2017 NBA regular season continues.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 10:30 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru the NBA League Pass.
Preview
Miami has been reeling as of late as the team lost nine of their last 11 matches to remain in the third from the last place in the Eastern Conference standings, seven-and-a-half games behind eighth-place squad Chicago Bulls.
The Heat actually snapped a six-game losing slide with a 107-102 win over the Sacramento Kings on the road at the Golden 1 Center in their most recent game last Wednesday, as per Fansided.
Tyler Johnson led the squad coming off the bench with 23 points on 7-for-11 shooting. He also had six rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocked shots in 30 minutes of playing time.
Goran Dragic was the only starter who scored in double figures with 19 points. The starting point guard also had one rebound, seven assists, and two steals.
Two other bench players scored in double-digits, namely James Johnson and Wayne Ellington, who fired 14 and 13 points respectively.
Hassan Whiteside (right eye) and Justise Winslow (right shoulder) will still be unavailable for head coach Erik Spoelstra in this match with separate injuries.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are also struggling with eight losses in their last 10 games. The team has dropped to fourth from the last place in the West after being as high as the seventh spot earlier in the season.
Los Angeles is coming off a 118-109 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night on the road at the Moda Center, USA Today reported.
D'Angelo Russell led head coach Luke Walton's squad with 22 points, four rebounds, two assists, and two steals while Julius Randle had 17 points, nine boards, five assists, and one steal. Nick Young scored 13 points with two rebounds and rookie Brandon Ingram netted 11 points with four boards, one assist, and one block.
Off the bench, Jordan Clarkson contributed 21 points, three rebounds, one assist, and two steals while Lou Williams had 10 points, three boards, and three assists.
Clarkson is unavailable in this game with the Heat because of a right elbow contusion while Luol Deng is still out with an arm injury.
Prediction
The Heat is 6-13 in away games so far this season while the Lakers are equally poor at home with an 8-10 slate. Both teams are undermanned, but Miami will have a hard time containing LA's young bigs without Whiteside in the paint. A close win by the Lakers is predicted.