The Portland Trail Blazers and Miami Heat meet Friday in NBA action at the Kaseya Center. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Trail Blazers vs Heat prediction.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have been in terrible form as they’ve lost 12 of their last 14 games overall and they will be hoping to arrest an eight-game slide after getting beaten by the Hawks in a 120-106 road defeat on Wednesday. Dalano Banton led the team with 31 points and nine assists off the bench, Tounami Camara added 17 points while Scoot Henderson chipped in with 15 points and six assists. As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 50 percent from the field and 14 of 31 from the 3-point line, but their problems were on the defensive end as they allowed 39 points in the second quarter to fall behind going into halftime and things only got worse in the third quarter where they trailed by as many as 19 points. The Blazers will face the Magic after this game.
Miami Heat
Meanwhile, the Miami Heat have been in decent shape as they’ve won four of their last seven games overall, but they will be eager to bounce back in this game after getting trounced by the Warriors in a 113-92 loss on Tuesday. Bam Adebayo led the team with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists, Terry Rozier and Haywood Highsmith each scored 15 points while Jaime Jacquez Jr chipped in with 12 points. As a team, the Heat shot just 40 percent from the field and eight of 33 from the 3-point line as they got off to a decent start and took the narrow lead into halftime, before they got blown out by 60-37 in the second half as they just couldn’t put a lid on the Warriors’ Klay Thompson who scored them for 28 points.
Miami Heat Team Facts
- The Heat have won each of their last 12 games as favorites following a home loss.
- The Heat have failed to cover the spread in each of their last nine home games against Northwest Division opponents.
- Each of the Heat’s last 11 Friday games have gone UNDER the total points line.
Portland Trail Blazers Team Facts
- The Trail Blazers have lost each of their last 15 games against teams that held a winning record.
- The home team has covered the spread in each of the Trail Blazers’ last four games.
- Each of the Trail Blazers’ last four games as underdogs following a road loss have gone OVER the total points line.
Trail Blazers vs Heat prediction
The Trail Blazers are still missing a host of players including Anfernee Simons, Tounami Camara and Malcolm Brogdon to name a few, while the Heat are still missing Duncan Robinson and Tyler Herro. The Trail Blazers have been one of the coldest teams in the league as they’ve been hit hard by injuries and they’ve lost their last eight games. The Heat were starting to build some good momentum before getting stopped in their tracks by the Warriors in their last outing. The line is hefty for this one, but the Heat are deserved favorites and they should be well-rested as they haven’t played since Tuesday. I am backing the Heat to bounce back with a comfortable win and cover at home against this severely depleted Trail Blazers squad with little to play for at this stage of the season.