The Bruins (5-2) will welcome the Miami Heat (2-4) into town on Monday for their first meeting of the season. Both teams enter this matchup coming off wins.
Start time and TV schedule
WHO: Los Angeles Lakers vs. Miami Heat
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when: 7 am PT, Nov. 2
where: Crypto.com Arena
Watch: Spectrum Sportsnet
In case you didn’t know, the Lakers have three back-to-back games this month, starting on Sunday and Monday. The purple and gold will face a Miami team that has won two straight games to open the postseason with four consecutive losses. Miami also wins two consecutive nights in this one division.
The only factor that makes this a challenging match for Los Angeles, however, is that they can win. The spotlight will obviously be on Luka Dončić and Giannis Antetokounmpo, but the key to victory will be which team can end up doing a better job of another superstar.
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The Greek Freak is averaging 28.2 points, 12.3 rebounds and 5.5 assists to start the year. In the front court, the Jets will have to look for Bam Adebayo, who is coming off his best performance yet with 27 points in the win against the Indiana Pacers. It’s this front two that makes the Heat a tricky matchup.
That’s why it will be interesting to see how coach JJ Redick plans for the head game against Antetokounmpo and Adebayo. Ideally, the Jets also expose the Heat’s lack of goaltending, defensive inconsistencies and lack of production from role players. It will be good to see Dončić – who just had his best game of the season in Sunday’s victory – remain hot and the torch of the defense.
Speaking of things that would be nice to see, the minutes of the Lakers without their Slovenian superstar on the floor will be miserable. Against the Raptors, it doesn’t matter so much that Dončić and co. They were able to open up a huge early lead.
But this Heat team is different in the sense that they have more firepower than the Raptors. Contributions will be needed across the board and that’s where the bench and shooters need help and footy.
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Facing Miami is the first test to see how the Jets handle tough matchups like this, especially with no rest. Let’s see if the purple and gold can successfully handle business against the Heat on Monday.
Notes and Updates
When he played for the Tigers on Sunday, there was no report of an injury to him.
As for Ziaire Williams (left foot injury management), there was an update before Sunday’s game about his recovery, but his status still remains uncertain.
Heat album Tim Hardaway Jr., (personal reasons) as doubtful.
You can follow Nicole on Twitter at @nicoleganglani*.