Miami Heat v Portland Trail Blazers – NBA
Today we will see 2nd encounter between these two teams this season, with Portland taking the win in the 1st match.
Currently at 7th position in the East, Miami Heat should be satisfied with their recent results. Looking at past 10 games, they won 7 times, only losing to Dallas Mavericks (96:89), Orlando Magic (110:99) and Indiana Pacers (102:98). Looking at Heat performances at American Airlines Arena, they are playing exceptionally good, losing only once in the past 16 games, so they are clearly a threat to any visitor. Heat last match was against Minnesota Timberwolves at American Airlines Arena, where they won without any big problems. Miami accumulated a 4 point lead in 1st quarter, which was further extended in 2nd quarter(37:26), (when Miami shot with a 75% accuracy) to a 15 point lead before the half time mark. Timberwolves put up a decent fight in 3rd quarter (26:32), lowering the margin to 9 points, which in the end proven to be too much for them to come back from. 4th quarter was again in Miami’s favour as they added another 7 points to their lead (33:24). Top scorers of the match: Towns (31pts), Wiggins (26pts) and Whiteside (23pts).
The visiting side today, Portland Trail Blazers are currently positioned at 9th position in the West, with a record of 31-57. Looking at past games, they are not doing as well as Miami, but they are not performing bad also. Past 5 games resulted in 3 W for Portland. Trail Blazers managed to win over Suns (101:110), SA Spurs (106:110) and Hawks (97:113). Sadly they did not manage to do the same against Washington Wizards (124:125)(OT) and New Orleans Pelicans (100:77). Looking at the recent match against Atlanta Hawks, Portland started the 1st quarter with a boom. Trail blazers were shooting with 76.2FG%, whereas they held Atlanta Hawks at 16%, so they managed to outscore their opponents by 22 points (18:40), thus getting a huge lead before heading into the remaining 3 quarters. The rest of the match did not offer any big surprises, neither did Hawks manage to get close to Trail Blazers. Match ended with a final score of 97:113. Top scorers of the match: Lillard (27pts), Ilyasova (23pts) and McCollum (22pts).
Verdict & Prediction
Miami is currently clearly in better form compared to Portland, but this does not necessarily mean they will easily win this match. Miami has an advantage, as they will play at home court, but still I see this match as a close one. Bookmakers are offering great odds on Portland and with 1.88 (on SBOBET or Pinnacle) on Portland +6, it’s just too good of an offer to pass.
Prediction: Portland Trail Blazers +6 points
Odds: 1.88 SBOBET/Pinnacle
Another NBA betting preview for tonight: Toronto Raptors v Indiana Pacers – NBA
