The Los Angeles Lakers are set to resume their four-game road trip against the Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
The Lakers are playing on the second night of a back-to-back after defeating the Orlando Magic 129-110 to snap a four-game losing streak, while the Heat snapped a two-game skid with a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday .
LeBron James has been in dominant form for the Lakers during their last four games, averaging 32.7 points per game, and he is anticipated to play, while Jimmy Butler is labeled as ‘questionable’ on the injury report with a right ankle strain that kept him out of the Heat’s previous game.
Here’s all you need to know about the Lakers vs. Heat game
Where to watch the Lakers vs. Heat game?
NBA TV will broadcast the Lakers vs. Heat game. Viewers can also watch the game live on Sling TV.
Fans in the United States can watch the most important games of the 2022-23 NBA season on Sling TV. Sling Orange costs $40 a month and allows you to watch all regular season games on TNT, ESPN, and ABC. Subscribe to Sling Orange and Sports Extra for $51 per month to watch NBA TV games. There are regional blackout limitations in effect.
Online platform Top Shot makes a fortune selling short videos of dramatic game sequences
Collecting short videos
Fans have been flocking by the thousands to the Top Shot online platform to buy short videos of dramatic sequences from professional basketball games, as a new virtual market enjoys astonishing success among collectors, sports fans and art lovers. To the untrained observer, one video clip showed NBA superstar LeBron James in one of his more spectacular moves; but it lasted no more than a few dozen seconds. On Top Shot, however, it instantly became a collector’s item that sold on Monday for an eye-popping $208,000.
Selling ‘moments’
The video sequence is an “NFT” — a Non-Fungible Token — a virtual object whose identity, authenticity and traceability are theoretically indisputable and tamper-proof, thanks to the same “blockchain” technology used to ensure the security of cryptocurrencies like the hugely popular bitcoin. Launched in early October by Canadian firm Dapper Labs in partnership with the National Basketball Association, Top Shot allows customers to buy and sell these short video clips — called “moments” — at prices that vary depending on demand and rarity.
Generating millions
Dapper Labs selects and sells the clips, in numbers varying from one single copy to hundreds of identical “moments.” Once the sale is recorded on the platform, clips can change hands, from one collector to another, an unlimited number of times. Dapper Labs takes a small commission from each sale, and a percentage is shared with the NBA and the players association. After a slow start, Top Shot’s business has exploded since January, generating more than $200 million in transactions since the beginning of the year, according to a Dapper Labs spokeswoman.
Available elsewhere
By Wednesday, Top Shot was approaching its first 100,000 buyers, she added. The Momentranks website, which says it provides “accurate, real-time moment valuations,” puts the current value of the market at $1.8 billion. Paradoxically, most of the video clips being sold can be viewed for free elsewhere on the internet, primarily on YouTube. “I totally understand the initial reaction of ‘I don’t get it’ or ‘This seems stupid,'” Jonathan Bales, who spent $35,000 for one “moment,” wrote on his Lucky Maverick blog.
Collectible future
“But guess what? There’s a whole generation of young, smart people who’ve grown up in a fundamentally different way from me and you, so whether or not we ‘get’ the future is irrelevant to how it will transpire.” Steve Poland, creator of the Mighty Minted site, recalled his own initial reaction. “I signed up for an account, and then just instantly, it just clicked, it was like, this is the future. And this is now. And this is what collectibles are going to become in the future.”
Start time for the Lakers vs. Heat-
The game between the Lakers and the Heat will begin at around 7:30 pm ET on Wednesday, December 28. The game will be held in Miami’s FTX Arena.
FAQs:
- Is Jimmy Butler on LeBron’s side?
Heat wing Jimmy Butler was on Team LeBron, while Heat coach Erik Spoelstra and his staff were on Team Durant.
- What exactly is Jimmy Butler’s injury?
The most recent is a sprained ankle that kept him out of Friday’s defeat to the Indiana Pacers.
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