Can the Miami Heat cover as home favorites on Wednesday? / Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a rough stretch, falling to 12-9 on Monday in a blowout loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.
L.A. has a LeBron James problem right now, as the four-time champion has missed his last 24 shots from 3 and is struggling on the offensive end in his last few games.
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have their own issues heading into Wednesday's contest.
Jimmy Butler has already missed five games this season, and Bam Adebayo is shooting a career-low from the field.
On top of that, the Heat lost badly to Boston on Monday to fall back under .500.
Which one of these teams will bounce back with a win tonight?
Here's a breakdown of the odds, best prop bets and my prediction for this rematch of the 2020 NBA Finals.
I don't mind taking a shot on this plus-money prop for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Wednesday.
The four-time champion is in the midst of a massive shooting slump, missing his last 19 shots from beyond the arc over four games, failing to hit two or more shots from deep in over half his games (11 out of 21) this season.
After shooting a career-high from 3 last season, LeBron is shooting just 34.5 percent from beyond the arc in the 2024-25 season, and he's struggled to score the ball overall, averaging just 22.0 points per game - his lowest average since his rookie season.
I'm not sold on the future Hall of Famer knocking down multiple shots from deep give his recent slump.
Miami Heat guard Tyler Herro is off to a strong start this season, averaging 23.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game through 19 contests.
However, this rebounds prop is a little high for my liking on Wednesday, especially against a Lakers team that ranks in the top half of the NBA in opponent rebounds per game.
Herro has grabbed six or more boards in just six of his 19 games, and he's failed to do so in eight of his last 10 matchups.
I'll fade him in this prop on Wednesday night.
Before betting on this game, bettors are going to want to check the status of Heat star Jimmy Butler (questionable) after he missed Monday's loss to the Celtics.
The Lakers have struggled on the road this season, going 5-6 straight up and 3-8 against the spread while posting the No. 24 net rating in the NBA (-7.0).
That's not a good sign against a Miami team that is 4-4 straight up at home, posting a net rating of +0.7 at Kaseya Center in the 2024-25 campaign.
While neither of these teams has played well as of late - the Lakers have the same record through 21 games that they did last season - Miami has already played five games without Butler in the 2024-25 season.
If the star wing returns, I think the Heat are the bet to make as short favorites.
Pick: Heat -2 (-112)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.