Portland has been particularly difficult to beat at home. The Blazers’ record since mid-January is third-best in the West behind Golden State and San Antonio. Miami’s road woes hit a new low with Wednesday’s loss to the dysfunctional Lakers.
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SCHEDULING
Miami’s three-game road trip didn’t get off to the best of starts. Now the Heat ends its trek west with the second of a back-to-back and its third game in four nights Saturday in Portland. The effort given by Miami Wednesday in Los Angeles is inexcusable for a team battling with Atlanta for the Southeast Division lead and the top-four playoff seeding that comes with it. “This was a bad loss for us,” forward Luol Deng said after the 102-100 overtime defeat. The Heat have gone with a tight eight-man rotation for the past few games and that group will be tested after battling Sacramento on Friday. Miami is 8-6 SU and ATS in the second game of its back-to-backs this season.
Portland is in a tight race in the Western Conference and has a slight chance of chasing down the fifth-place Memphis Grizzlies. But a slump down the stretch could lead to the Blazers falling out of the race as ninth-place Dallas remains in close pursuit. Since a 14-2 stretch through the first day of March lifted Portland into a comfortable spot in the west, things have gotten dicey for the Blazers. They proceeded to lose eight of their next 12 joining Houston and Utah in the lower end of the conference playoff seedings. A return to the Moda Center has helped. Portland started its four-game homestand with wins over Philly and Sacramento to stretch its home streak to five.
INJURIES
There is good news on the Heat’s injury report with all players currently healthy. That still hasn’t stopped coach Erik Spoelstra from employing an eight-man rotation.
The Blazers got some troubling news last week when forward Myers Leonard was informed he needed surgery to repair a twice dislocated shoulder. He is out for the rest of the season. Also, reserve center Chris Kaman is battling an illness and may not be ready to play come Saturday.
KEY MATCHUP
With the regular season nearing its end, Blazers’ point guard Damian Lillard remains among the NBA’s most heralded players. The league’s fifth leading scorer, Lillard has propped the team on his shoulders and is carrying it to the postseason, a destination that looked improbable after the team lost four-fifths of its starting lineup from last season’s Northwest Division winning squad. Lillard is having such a remarkable season that he is likely to receive votes for the MVP award, though he won’t win it – at least not this season. Lillard does have the league’s top candidate for most improved player, C.J. McCollum, to help him out, but besides that the cupboard is largely bare. Still, Lillard has the Blazers ahead of a mostly-healthy Rockets teams and within striking distance of overtaking Memphis for the fifth playoff spot in the West.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
This NBA game doesn’t set up well for the visiting Heat, who are playing their third game in four nights and the second of a back-to-back. In an effort to claim a top-four seed in the East, coach Spoelstra has employed an eight-man rotation and that leads to tired legs in a stretch like this on the road. If you eliminate the 15 minutes a game from Amar’e Stoudemire, the rotation is reduced to seven and the Heat are coming off a draining overtime loss in Los Angeles. Miami allowed LA’s backcourt of D’Angelo Russell and Jordan Clarkson to combine for 42 points. It’s scary to think what Lillard and McCollum will do.
Portland 108, Miami 101
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