Written by Thomas | Wednesday, March 9th, 2011

In a huge NBA game on Thursday night, the Miami Heat will host the Los Angeles Lakers. This game features three All Star game starters in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. At the start of the season, these two teams were the favorites in their respective conferences. Since the season has started, both teams have been up and down, but currently – both are heading in opposite directions.

The Miami Heat have lost five straight games, including a Tuesday night loss at home to the Portland Trailblazers. The Lakers have won eight in a row, and eight of their last ten overall. They are making a move to catch the San Antonio Spurs at the top of the Western Conference. The Lakers pounded the Spurs on Sunday in San Antonion. These two teams have played one time this year; on Christmas Day at the Staples Center. Behind 27 points from LeBron James and 13 rebounds from Chris Bosh, the Heat won by 16 points.

The Heat have fallen to third place in the Eastern Conference, behind Boston and Chicago. If the postseason started today, the Heat would take on the New York Knicks in the first round. The Heat lead Orlando by three games at the top of the Southeast Division. LeBron James is Miami’s leading scorer, as he is pouring in more than 26 points per game. James is also dishing out 7.1 assists per game. The Heat are scoring 101.5 points per game, and allowing 95 per game. The Heat will need to win just 4 of their final 18 games to match their win total from last season.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the middle of a four game road trip. Los Angeles downed Atlanta on Tuesday behind 26 from Kobe Bryant. The leading scorer is pouring in 25.1 points of the team’s 101.8 points per game. The Lakers are 11.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns at the top of the Pacific Division. Currently, the Lakers have the third best record in the Western Conference, but would be the second seed ahead of Dallas, because they are a divisional winner.

This should be an excellent game between two teams that have their eyes set upon the NBA Finals. Look for James and Bryant to have a little show between themselves. The Lakers are playing just too well right now; Los Angeles wins this game!

Our pick: The red-hot Lakers continue to impress, coming away with a road win over the Miami Heat. Lakers -1.5 is our pick!

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