Having lost five straight, the Miami Heat have given plenty of fuel to feed their critics. Tonight they get a chance to strike back but it’s going to be tough against the Los Angeles Lakers
Lakers looking for payback Way back on Christmas Day, the Lakers met the Heat in the Staples Center and for the second Christmas running it was LeBron winning on Kobe’s court. Times have changed considerably since then. The Lakers enter Thursday’s game in Miami on an 8-game winning streak. It took a long time but finally everything is clicking for Los Angeles, just in time for the playoffs.
The same can’t be said for Miami. The Heatles have dropped five straight and have been written off by the media. All the weaknesses we knew were there at the start of the year are hurting them right now. It doesn’t help that one of their few big men is focussed more on his impending retirement than winning games. Miami need a break to go their way and tonight might just be the night.
Phil Jackson has fired so many verbal shots at Miami in recent weeks that it can’t but motivate this team. The Heat might have trouble closing games out but if they start strong then Miami might not need to worry about making a big shot late. It won’t be easy against a Los Angeles team in this kind of form but big games call for big performances. Bet on the Miami Heat to win as +2.5 underdogs with Sports Interaction.
Mavs can stop Knicks’ run The Knicks enter the second game of TNT’s double-header on a 3-game winning streak. The winning run was kept alive by a late Carmelo Anthony score, his first game-winner for New York. Making it four in a row won’t be easy as the Knicks travel to Dallas, where the Mavs are pushing hard to maintain the #2 seed in the Western Conference.
This is a match-up that favors all the big names in the scoring department. Melo and Amare Stoudemire have both lit up the scoreboard against Dallas in recent meetings while Dirk Nowitzki usually has plenty of success against the Knicks. The difference in this game will be how the other parts work. Nowtizki’s supporting cast offers a lot more than what the Knicks have to offer beyond their two All Stars. That should be enough to push ahead in the fourth quarter. Bet on the Dallas Mavericks to win as -5.0 favorites with Sports Interaction.
