LA Lakers vs Miami Heat: Injury Report, Predicted Lineups and Starting 5s - January 23rd, 2022 | NBA Season 2021-22
The LA Lakers will hit the road to face the Miami Heat for the second time this NBA season. During their last encounter in Los Angeles, the Purple and Gold defeated the Heat, 120-117 in an exciting match that went into overtime. Hopefully, the game on Sunday will be just as interesting as the last.
Miami has established itself as one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. Eric Spoelstra's coaching genius is shown in his ability to guide his team to victory even when their star players are injured or sidelined. The Heat currently have a 29-17 record and are third in the Eastern Conference.
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The Lakers currently have a record of 23-23 and are 7th in the Western Conference. The team's head coach, Frank Vogel, has come under heavy criticism after failing to show consistently positive results.
The LA Lakers built a superteam in the off-season. A team that on paper looked unbeatable. However, that same team has now struggled to maintain a record above .500 all season. It will be interesting to see how they fare against the Miami Heat in their rematch.
LA Lakers Injury Report
The Lakers will most likely head to Florida without Anthony Davis. Having already missed their last 16 games due to a sprained MCL, Davis' status has been upgraded to questionable but may still be sidelined come Sunday.
LeBron James, who has been dealing with an abdominal injury the entire season, has been listed as probable while Kendrick Nunn, who has yet to debut for the Lakers, will continue to remain inactive for the foreseeable future.
Miami Heat Injury Report
The hosts for Sunday's game have marked five players as out in their official injury report, while one is listed as questionable. Tyler Herro, one of Miami's top scorers, will be sidelined against the Lakers due to the NBA's Health & Safety Protocol.
Kyle Lowry will continue to remain inactive for the fourth consecutive game due to personal reasons. Miami's list also includes Markieff Morrif, KZ Okpala, Victor Oladipo and PJ Tucker among players out due to injuries.
LA Lakers vs Miami Heat: Predicted Lineups
LA Lakers
LeBron James will be one of the key players in the Lakers' battle with the Heat. James, who is averaging 28.9 points per game, is the team's top scorer and playmaker. He will start in the frontcourt alongside Trevor Ariza and Dwight Howard.
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Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook will start alongside Avery Bradley in the backcourt. Westbrook, like coach Vogel, has been heavily criticized for his poor performance.
Miami Heat
Miami will most likely start Bam Adebayo at center. A fierce rebounder and defender, Adebayo will start alongside Jimmy Butler and Duncan Robinson in the frontcourt. Gabe Vincent and Max Strus will start in the backcourt for the Heat.
Max Strus and Duncan Robinson are two of Miami's best shooters and they could be a tough duo to handle for the Lakers on Sunday.
LA Lakers vs Miami Heat: Predicted Starting 5s
LA Lakers
Point Guard - Russell Westbrook; Shooting Guard - Avery Bradley; Small Forward - LeBron James; Power Forward - Trevor Ariza; Center - Dwight Howard.
Miami Heat
Point Guard - Gabe Vincent | Shooting Guard - Max Struss | Small Forward - Jimmy Butler | Power Forward - Duncan Robinson | Center - Bam Adebayo.