LOS ANGELES — Miami begins a five-game swing through the West on Monday night at Crypto.com Arena, and the first task is the hardest one on the schedule: containing Luka Doncic.
Heat center Bam Adebayo told reporters Sunday that the plan is to make Doncic work for every look, showing him extra defenders and forcing tough shots. He paraphrased the approach as making the Lakers star see double and think twice before he lets it go.
That is a big ask. Doncic is averaging 36.2 points, 7.6 assists and 6.8 rebounds through his first five games, and he followed that by dropping 45 points with 15 rebounds on Toronto on Sunday in a 131-125 Lakers win. He hit 8 of 12 from three in that one.
Miami leans on a defense built around Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Heat started the season 0-4 but arrive on a two-game winning streak, and a road win against the Lakers would be a strong start to a demanding trip.
Los Angeles is playing the second night of a back-to-back after Sunday, when it shot 53.8% from the floor but turned the ball over 24 times. The Lakers are 3-1 at home.
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