Miami Heat-Portland Trail Blazers Preview: Can Red-Hot Heat Win Fifth Straight?
The Miami Heat (32-25) continue their Western Conference road trip Tuesday against the Portland Trail Blazers (15-41).
It's the second night of a back-to-back for the Heat after playing the Sacramento Kings the previous night. It was arguably their most impressive win of the season by taking down the Kings on the road despite missing starters Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Terry Rozier.
Bam Adebayo (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Jaime Jaquez Jr. (26 points) led the way. Kevin Love and Haywood Highsmith added 19 and 15 points, respectively, off the bench.
Portland is in the midst of a rebuild. Losers of eight straight, the Blazers have the fifth-worst record in the NBA. They are coming off Sunday's 93-80 home loss to the Charlotte Hornets. The Blazers own the two lowest-scoring games this season.
Previous Matchups
This is the first meeting of the season for the teams.
They split last year, each winning on the road. The Heat used a balanced attack in both games as every starter scored in double-figures. Adebayo averaged 17.0 points and Butler 16.5.
Former Blazer star Damian Lillard led the way in both games. Among players still in Portland, Anfernee Simons averaged 19.5 points and Jerami Grant 17.0.
Opposing Players to Watch
With Lillard now with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Blazers’ offense is built around Simons and Grant.
The blossoming Simons is averaging 22.5 points and 5.2 assists while shooting 42.7 percent and 38.0 percent from three. Simons shot 4 of 21 from the field and 0 of 8 from three in his game.
The 6-foot-4 guard still has the ability to produce big games on any given night. He has two 40-point games this season.
Grant plays more of a complementary role to Simons, but is one of the most underrated scorers in the league. The 6-foot-7 forward is averaging 21.6 points, shooting 45.3 percent and 40.0 percent from the arc. He had 49 points, eight rebounds and six assists against the Detroit Pistons earlier this month.
Key Matchup
DeAndre Ayton vs. Bam Adebayo
Both big men are coming off strong performances in their previous games.
Ayton had 26 points and 19 rebounds in the loss to the Hornets.
Ayton was the centerpiece of the Blazers’ return in the Lillard trade. The former No. 1 overall pick is averaging 14.4 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 56.8 percent (16th-best in NBA).
Nick Crandell is a staff contributor at Inside the Heat.
He can be reached at nick.crandell33@gmail.com or follow him on Instagram @nickcrandell
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