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NBA Finals: Miami Heat vs Los Angeles Lakers Game 5 Injury Update, Lineups And Predictions

Published 10/09/2020, 6:30 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

The Orlando Bubble might have its last game tomorrow. With a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, the Los Angeles Lakers will look to finish the Miami Heat in Game 5. In each round of the Playoffs, the Lakers have managed to come out victorious within just five games. However, the Heat have consistently shown that they aren’t easy to break. They will not go home without putting up a fair fight for the championship ring.

Miami Heat injury update and lineup predictions

While we all thought the Lakers might end up finishing the series with a clean sweep, a Game 3 win by the Heat eradicated that assumption. They have shown tremendous resilience, which may give them hope of forcing a Game 6.

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They failed to find better offensive support in the previous game than in Game 3. Bam Adebayo may have returned from his injuries, but he isn’t his dominant self. If the Heat wants to put up at least a better fight, players other than Jimmy Butler need to step up.

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USA Today via Reuters

Goran Dragic is still listed as doubtful for the crucial game, and Tyler Herro has been the player trying to fill up the void. Unfortunately, the rookie hasn’t been the best in this series. Talking about the defensive end, they need to produce more turnovers. This is because we saw this to be a problem for the Lakers during the regular-season and was evident in Heat’s win in game 3.

With that, the predicted lineup would be Tyler Herro, Duncan Robinson, Jimmy Butler, Jae Crowder, and Bam Adebayo.

Los Angeles Lakers injury update and lineup predictions

The biggest favor the Lakers have done for themselves is not to get lost in overconfidence. They have taken Miami Heat seriously in every single game, and that has led to their commanding lead.

As usual, LeBron James and Anthony Davis have led the team in the finest way. However, the best part about the previous games was the stellar job the supporting cast put up. Alex Caruso and Rajon Rondo have given Lakers’ possessions with great rebound attempts.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope raised the bar from the very beginning by dropping buckets left and right. Not only that, but Kyle Kuzma also contributed to the scoreboard.

USA Today via Reuters

Nevertheless, Anthony Davis has proved his value to the Lakers. His incredible defense on Jimmy Butler in the previous game astounded everyone.  We sometimes forget what an incredible defensive player he is, and he reminded us of exactly that.

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With a healthy roster, the predicted lineup would be LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, Anthony Davis, and Dwight Howard.

Game prediction

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The Lakers seem unstoppable at this point of time. The Heat would have to perform a miracle, but expect Lakers to clinch their 17th NBA Championship title in Game 5.

Do you think the Heat can turn this around somehow?

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Written by:

Yashima Bhatia

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Yashima Bhatia is an NBA writer for EssentiallySports who specialises in providing nuanced predictions and updates for matches. She has a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication. Yashima's love for playing the game came up at a young age, when the excitement of the games coupled with the intensity of the Playoffs had her hooked.
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