Trail Blazers Vs Heat: How to Watch, Odds, Predictions, And More
Tonight, what remains of your flailing 15-41 Portland Trail Blazers (who will be without at least five key pieces, possibly more) will square off against the 32-25 Miami Heat, who have finally awoken from their regular season slumber in notching four consecutive victories and eight in their last ten games.
So the question becomes not will Portland lose tonight, because it will, but by how much?
The action tips off at 7 p.m. in the Moda Center. Blazers fan apathy is so drastic that tickets for the event are going for as low as $1 (before surcharges, anyway), according to Aaron Mesh of Willamette Week. The contest will be broadcast on ROOT Sports and Bally Sports Sun in its two local markets.
Per Vegas aggregator The Action Network, Miami is currently considered a -7.5 point favorite to best the Blazers.
But that seems a tad optimistic.
The Heat currently occupy the Eastern Conference's sixth seed. They're just a game behind the plummeting Philadelphia 76ers, who have looked like anything but a contender with All-Star center Joel Embiid on the shelf. Ever the scrappy underdog and lover of beefs, Miami actually boasts a better road record (17-12) than a home record (15-13). Leading Heat scorers Jimmy Butler (one-game suspension) and Tyler Herro (hyperextended left knee) could well return after missing their club's last bout against the Sacramento Kings yesterday, which Miami still won, 121-110, on the road behind All-Star center Bam Adebayo's 28 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.
Portland, meanwhile, is the No. 14 seed in the West, ahead of only the 11-47 San Antonio Spurs. The Trail Blazers have dropped eight straight games, and are a brutal 9-19 on their home turf.
If Miami can beat a very good Kings team on the road, without two of its three best players available, by more than 7.5 points, it stands to reason that they can do even better with those players (or, at least, Butler) back.
