Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers failed to clinch their first NBA title in 10 years on Friday night and will give it another try in Game 6. LeBron James carried the club with 40 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists while making 15 of 21 shots, including 6 of 9 from 3-point range. James received some unfounded criticism afterward for passing out of a double team to wide-open Danny Green, who missed a 3-pointer that assured the Lakers would absorb a 111-108 loss.James said of Green’s miss — “You live with that. It’s one of the best shots that we could have got,” — so it will be interesting to see what transpires if the same situation should occur again. Green is shooting just 30.8 percent (12 of 39) from the field in the series and had eight points on 3-of-8 shooting in Game 5. In fact, James and Anthony Davis (28 points) combined to make 24 of 36 shots while the rest of the Lakers connected on just 14 of 46 field-goal attempts.Los Angeles will need someone else to break out if it wants to end the series on Sunday. Davis also suffered a bruised right heel on Friday and might not be at full strength.
Miami Heat
Jimmy Butler is single-handedly keeping the Heat alive and now looks to lead his club to a victory that would tie the series at 3-3. Butler had 35 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists in the Game 5 win to become the sixth player in NBA Finals history to have multiple triple-doubles in the same series. Butler also had a historic game when Miami faced elimination in Game 3 when he recorded 40 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds.Point guard Goran Dragic (foot) remains highly doubtful and his absence would be his fifth straight in the Finals. Miami coach Erik Spoelstra trimmed the rotation to seven players for Game 5 and sharpshooter Duncan Robinson stepped up to make 7 of 13 3-point shots and score 26 points. Robinson was just 8 of 26 from behind the arc over the first four games of the series.Standout big man Bam Adebayo (neck) is playing at less than full strength and it showed when he had just four rebounds and four assists while scoring 13 points. If he responds with a stellar Game 6, there is a good chance this series goes another game.
Lakers at Heat Betting Pick for October 11, 2020
Butler has willed his team to wins in this series so can he do it two more times without collapsing from exhaustion? One more time would force a Game 7. James did everything he could to win Game 5 and came up short and it is likely that occurs again in Game 6.Lakers at Heat Betting Pick:Heat 113, Lakers 112
Lakers at Heat Betting Pick for October 11, 2020
Miami has now adjusted to not having Dragic and is picking up momentum. The Lakers can smell the title, but Davis is now ailing more than he will let on publicly. If you think the Heat will win, this is your bet.Lakers at Heat at Best Bet: Heat to win by 1 to 10 points (+260)————
