Miami Heat vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction & Match Preview – January 5th, 2022 | NBA Season 2021-22

The Miami Heat will face off against the Portland Trail Blazers in an exciting NBA regular-season game at the Moda Center on Wednesday. The game will be the first encounter between the two teams this season.

The Miami Heat suffered a disappointing loss to the Golden State Warriors prior to this matchup. The Heat managed to prevent Steph Curry from doing the damage, but Jordan Poole showed up and took the game away from Miami. They were given another huge setback as Jimmy Butler walked out of the game injured.

However, the injury is not very serious and Butler will be back with the team soon. The Heat still has a deep team and with players like Tyler Herro and Kyle Lowry still playing, they can definitely push for a win in this encounter.

Meanwhile, the Trail Blazers come into the game on the back of a stunning win over the Atlanta Hawks. Anfernee Simons was the star of the night for the Blazers as he scored 43 points to lead the team to a win. It was a vital win for the team as it helped snap their four game losing streak.

Match Details

Fixture: Miami Heat vs Portland Trail Blazers | NBA Season 2021-22

Date & Time: Wednesday, January 5, 11:00 PM ET [Thursday, January 6, 8:30 AM IST]

Venue: Moda Center, Portland, OR

Miami Heat Preview

The Miami Heat have proven to be one of the most exciting teams to watch out for this season. They recruited a bunch of star players in the offseason and it paid off well as the Heat got off to a stunning start. However, as the season progressed the team began having injury problems. The whole roster is yet to be played together and despite that, the team is fourth in the East.

Many new faces have shown up for the Heat and this shows that the team has a lot of depth, which is a good sign for them in the long run. Going into the game against the Blazers, Miami will be hoping to get back to winning ways, as they have lost two consecutive games and another one will put some pressure on them, as they are being closely challenged by Philly for the fourth position.

Key Player – Kyle Lowry

Kyle Lowry has undoubtedly been one of the best signings for the Heat this season. The 37-year-old has some stellar court vision and has made things extremely easy for the other players in the franchise. He has fitted well with the team and has a great connection with other players like Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo. Going into the game against the Blazers, Lowry will have to put in a good performance, as the team is playing without the likes of Butler and Adebayo, which means that the responsibility of guiding the team lies on his shoulders now.

Miami Heat Predicted Lineup

G – Kyle Lowry, G – Tyler Herro, F – Caleb Martin, F – PJ Tucker, C – Omer Yurtseven

Portland Trail Blazers Preview

The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the most disappointing teams in the NBA this season. Despite having quality players, the Trail Blazers have failed to deliver and are placed twelfth in the West.

In the past month, the team has had a wide array of injury issues and this has led to them losing seven of their last 10 games. Damian Lillard looked good after his return from injury, but he will not play in this game due to an abdominal injury.

The team will once again have to rely on players like Anfernee Simons and Norman Powell to deliver if they are to get to a win against the Heat team at home.

Key Player – Norman Powell

Norman Powell has had a great season with the Blazers this season. Despite the team’s struggles, Norman’s performance has been a great positive. He is averaging 18.4 PPG on 46.1 % shooting from the field. The 28-year-old scored 26 points in the team’s win against the Hawks. He will be hoping to put up a similar performance against the Heat and lead the team to their fifteenth win of the season.

Portland Trail Blazers Predicted Lineup

G – Anfernee Simons, G – Norman Powell, F – Nassir Little, F – Robert Covington, C – Jusuf Nurkic

Miami Heat vs Portland Trail Blazers Match Prediction

The Miami Heat have had several of their players perform for them this season. Going into the game against the Blazers, the Heat have lost two games on the trot. However, they are known for their resilience and will come in all guns blazing to get the better of the struggling Trail Blazers team on Wednesday.

Where to watch the Heat vs Trail Blazers game?

Also ReadArticle Continues below

All NBA games will be available to stream live on the official NBA app. This game between the Heat and the Trail Blazers will also be telecast on Bally Sports Sun and Root Sports.