Heat vs. Lakers odds, props, predictions: Miami heads to L.A. minus Jimmy Butler

LeBron James welcomes his former team to L.A. Wednesday night in a matchup of mid-tier teams looking to ascend in the standings of their respective conferences. 

The Miami Heat are 19-14 on the season but have been one of the worst spread bets in the league at 15-18 ATS. The Lakers are not much better at 16-19 against the spread. The Heat had been on a four-game win streak where they covered in each contest before losing their last two games and failing to cover in either. The Lakers have been up and down but have covered in two of their last three and hit the OVER for total points in six of their last seven.

Check out the live odds for NBA Wednesday on ESPN, with the Heat's road game at the Lakers tipping off at 10 p.m. ET. We also have the betting news the Heat and Lakers, player props from BetMGM and a betting prediction for tonight's matchup.

Live odds for Heat vs. Lakers

Here are the spread, moneyline, and total points live odds for the NBA Wednesday matchup between the Heat vs. Lakers at the best online sportsbooks.

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Miami Heat betting news

Star small forward Jimmy Butler is out for tonight's game. The All-Star is out with a foot injury — a huge blow for the Heat. Butler is averaging 21 PPG and 5 RPG and leads the team with 4.5 APG while also being their best individual wing defender. 

Without Butler, that will likely mean more minutes for rookie Jaime Jacquez Jr., who has been one of the top first-year players in the NBA this season. Jacquez averages 13.7 PPG on 50.4% shooting from the field and 35.4% from three. The 18th overall pick out of UCLA has also improved throughout the season. December was his best month with 16.1 PPG. He also had his career-high on Christmas Day four games ago when he dropped 31 points in an upset win over Philadelphia.

The Heat will also need a big night from their leading scorer, Tyler Herro, who has spent much of the offseason in trade rumors and is having the best season of his career. He is scoring 23.4 PPG, 2.7 points higher than his previous career best, and is shooting a career-high from the field (45.5%) and from three (42.4%).

Los Angeles Lakers betting news

Like many seasons during the LeBron era, the Lakers are having ups and downs. They looked like the best team in the NBA while winning the in-season tournament but haven't been consistent enough to remain near the top of the standings during the lengthy NBA season. 

Since the Lakers beat the Pacers to win the in-season tournament, they've only won three of 11 games. The worrisome part is that LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been relatively healthy during that stretch and have been having strong games, and Los Angeles is still losing. Still, there is hope that Lakers role players are developing and starting to produce more. 

That is vital for the Lakers' season-long success as even MVP-level Anthony Davis paired with an almost 40-year-old LeBron James is not enough to compete in the playoffs. When the Lakers get efficient guard play to help Davis and James, they win. The Lakers won every game in December when Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell shot 50% or better in the same game.

Heat vs. Lakers game props at BetMGM Sportsbook

BetMGM is a top sportsbook for NBA bettors, with nightly markets ranging from game props, parlays, specials, player props and more. Here are a few of our favorite player prop markets for the Heat's trip to Los Angeles.

LeBron James prop bets

• 27.5 points OVER (-115) / UNDER (-115)
• 8.5 assists OVER (-130) / UNDER (-105)
• 7.5 rebounds OVER (+110) / UNDER (-145)

Anthony Davis prop bets

• 29.5 points OVER (-115) / UNDER (-115)
• 3.5 assists OVER (+115) / UNDER (-150)
• 12.5 rebounds OVER (-120) / UNDER (-115)

Tyler Herro prop bets

• 23.5 points OVER (-105) / UNDER (-125)
• 4.5 assists OVER (-145) / UNDER (+110)
• 5.5 rebounds OVER (+100) / UNDER (-130)

Bam Adebayo prop bets

• 27.5 points OVER (-115) / UNDER (-115)
• 4.5 assists OVER (+120) / UNDER (-160)

Jaime Jaquez Jr. prop bets

• 22.5 points OVER (-105) / UNDER (-125)
• 2.5 assists OVER (-115) / UNDER (-115)
• 4.5 rebounds OVER (-130) / UNDER (-105)

Heat vs. Lakers prediction: Tight battle sees Los Angeles pull away behind clutch play from LeBron

The most significant betting news is that the Heat will be without their All-Star wing, Jimmy Butler. They can replace his offense, but without him the Heat will have a bad matchup for one of LeBron James or Anthony Davis. Bam Adebayo is a great defender and can match up well with LeBron or AD, but not both. This will leave one of the Lakers stars with a matchup they can exploit in crunch time.

Pick: Lakers