Trail Blazers vs Heat Odds and Picks
- The Portland Trail Blazers visit the Miami Heat Thursday night
- Miami has lost four straight, while the Blazers have lost two straight
- Get the latest Trail Blazers vs Heat odds, betting preview and a pick below
Two teams that have recently stalled try to get back on track Thursday, as the Portland Trail Blazers are in South Beach to take on the Miami Heat.
The Blazers dropped two in a row at home, the latest being a Tuesday night letdown to the shorthanded Nets. After a hot run to move into the East playoff picture, the Heat have dropped four straight, unable to find the range in a loss to the Suns last time out.
Still, Miami is a 4-point favorite in this battle of six seeds in their respective conferences.
Trail Blazers vs Heat Odds
| Team | Spread at FanDuel | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portland Trail Blazers | +4 (-110) | +142 | TBD |
| Miami Heat | -4 (-110) | -168 | TBD |
Odds taken on Mar 23. Tip-off is Thursday at 7:30pm ET
As Dame Goes
For a team that has had trouble on the defensive end all year, any offensive troubles and the Blazers struggle. And if Damian Lillard is at the epicenter of those troubles, Portland goes in the tank.
It hasn’t happened often, but Lillard, the NBA’s second-leading scorer at 30.1 points a game, is currently in a funk. Over his last two games, he’s shot 36% from the field and averaged just 20.5 points. He’s also struggled to find the range from deep. After going 0-for-7 from three-point range in a loss to Dallas, he was just 3-for-14 against the Nets, a lowly 14.3% clip combined.
From the M(VP)! pic.twitter.com/1Z4uaBehu8
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2021
The rest of the Blazers’ roster hasn’t been able to lift him.
CJ McColllum, back after a lengthy layoff with a foot injury, still hasn’t found his groove. He’s topped 20+ points just once in five games since returning. Against Brooklyn, he shot 5-for-19 from the field, including 4-for-12 from deep, finishing with 16 points. McCollum is shooting 33.3% from the field and 37.2% deep.
Kan play Kanter.
@EnesKanter | @McDonalds pic.twitter.com/Tui93DM96h
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) March 24, 2021
As a team, the Blazers have not shot better than 40% in their last two games. One bright spot has been reserve Enes Kanter, who has gobbled up big-man minutes with Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins still on the shelf. He went for 19 points, 19 rebounds and six dimes against Brooklyn.
Heat Cold Offensively
Last year’s Eastern Conference champion grinds opponents down to dust, ranking fourth in points allowed per game (107.6), and second in field-goal defense, limiting teams to 44% shooting, while also ranking top-10 in three-point shooting D.
Grizzlies win late!!! A look at the @JaMorant game winner with just over a second left to knock off @MiamiHEAT 89-85.
Morant's reaction in the postgame–
"When in doubt..call 12." pic.twitter.com/UK3oF3rn3O— Mike Ceide (@MCeide_WREG3) March 18, 2021
It was that defense that powered the Heat to 11 wins in 12 games and as high as the fourth seed in the East.
But their offense has brought them back to earth, where they’ve dropped four in a row. Miami has averaged just 100.3 points per game over that span. For reference, that’s four points worse than the last-place Cleveland Cavaliers have averaged this season.
HOW ABOUT THIS SEQUENCE FROM JIMMY BUTLER?????????#JiMVP
Watch the @MiamiHEAT live on:
📺 FOX Sports Sun
📲 FOX Sports Go: https://t.co/5O8TgBu84G#HEATTwitter #NBA #CLEvsMIA pic.twitter.com/ecaF35SaPo— Bally Sports Sun: HEAT (@BallyHEAT) March 17, 2021
Jimmy Butler is carrying the load offensively since returning from injury and COVID, averaging 21.3 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists, while Bam Adebayo is putting up 19.2 points and 9.5 boards. A consistent third option would be helpful. Tyler Herro hasn’t been it, shooting just 29.9% in his last 10 and averaging 11.3 points. Duncan Robinson is only averaging only 10.9 points in March, held to single-digit scoring in four games.
What’s the Best Bet?
The Blazers are a bottom-4 defensive unit, surrendering 115.5 points a night. Portland lets their opponent shoot 48.1% from the field, which is the second-worst mark in all of basketball. For reference, that means any team Portland plays turns into a top-7 shooting team.
If Damian Lillard played against Portland’s defense this year he’d break Wilts scoring record 🤦🏻♂️
— Blazers Palace (@blazers_palace) March 17, 2021
That will help Miami, but there’s a reason the Heat are even considering trading Herro or Robinson — their scoring is a major concern if they want to return back to the Finals. In the last 16 games, they’ve broken 110 points just six times.
While they could hold Portland to less than their114.4 point per game average (Portland games have gone under the total in four of the last six games), expect Lillard to break out. He hasn’t scored less than 25 points in three straight games at any point this season.
I’m a little surprised at how high this spread is, considering Miami is just 6-15 against teams .500 or better this season.
The pick: Trail Blazers +4 (-110)
Having worked in and around sports since 1997, Eric is truly a knowledgeable expert. The two-time journalism grad specializes in all things NBA and NFL. From TSN.ca to CTV's Olympic Broadcast Consortium, Eric's work has appeared in local and national publications alike.
