NBA Basketball
2013-02-12 - Portland Trail Blazers at Miami Heat
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Tuesday 12 February 2013 - Tip Off 7:30pm
12:30am (British Time)
Preview
The Miami Heat (34-14) have been beating up on some Western Conference teams at home to extend their winning run to 5 games and now they have a chance to level their longest streak of the season. While they meet a Portland Trail Blazers (25-26) team that haven't been playing well, they will also know how dangerous this team can be after leaving South Beach with plenty of wins recently.
While Miami continue to be the team to beat in the Eastern Conference, Portland are still 2 games behind Houston in the final Play Off place in the Western Conference. Losing 3 games in a row has been tough for the Trail Blazers, especially considering the last one was to the Orlando Magic who had previously lost 12 in a row.
The Heat have won 5 in a row coming into this game and they have won by an average of 11.6 points per game. A lot of this is down to LeBron James who is playing at such a high level that it is hard to put into words.
James has become only the third player in NBA history to score at least 30 points and shoot at least 60% from the field in 5 consecutive games and he will feel he has unfinished business with Portland. The reigning MVP of the NBA struggled at the Rose Garden when these teams met last month as he had his worst shooting percentage of the season so far.
To stop James again, Portland have to play a lot better than they have been in losing their last 3 road games. The Trail Blazers are allowing an average of 111 points per game in those 3 losses and they felt they were 'outplayed' by Orlando in their last game, which was a big disappointment to them.
Portland have lost 7 of their last 8 road games and they have admitted they need to play much 'harder' if they are to keep tabs on a Miami team that have been playing very well.
Head to Head
Portland have a strong record against Miami, winning 7 of the last 10 in the series including a 2 point win at the Rose Garden last month.
The Trail Blazers have won 4 in a row in Miami, covering the spread each time.
Prediction
Portland are definitely going to put up a much better showing than they did against Orlando, but they are facing a Miami Heat team playing at an extremely high level.
With LeBron James continuing to make history with efficient, but highly effective performances, I like the Heat to build on their recent efforts and keep the momentum ahead of their big game with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The Pick :
Miami Heat 111-98 Portland Trail Blazers
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll back the Miami Heat - 11.5 Points @ 1.95
