{"id":553741,"date":"2026-01-22T19:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/553741\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T19:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T19:00:15","slug":"portland-trail-blazers-vs-miami-heat-preview-tv-injuries-start-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/553741\/","title":{"rendered":"Portland Trail Blazers vs Miami Heat Preview: TV, Injuries, Start Time"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Miami Heat visit Moda Center tonight for a rematch with Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers. Miami won its last contest<\/a> with Portland on November 8th by a score of 136-131. In that game, the Heat looked like Blazers East. Its offense often resembled the Blazers\u2019 combination of drives, kickout passes, swings around the perimeter and cuts. Like the Blazers, Miami lacked elite talent. It won with a Portland hallmark: greater effort and focus. Scrappy Miami out-Blazered the Blazers, forcing 20 Portland turnovers which led to 32 points in transition.<\/p>\n

Those early season similarities persist. The two teams\u2019 records sit at .500 (Blazers) or two games above (Heat), At mid-season, Miami and Portland both sit at the fringe of playoff contention. A few wins could be the difference between the play-in (or higher) or an early off-season.<\/p>\n

Miami coach Erik Spoelstra is still a hall-of-fame-bound motivator. But, interim Blazers coach Tiago Splitter is meeting the moment. He has now managed more in-game situations. And, Portland now competes with a more seasoned group than it did in November. It has displayed better late-game management in recent weeks. So, this contest could be an insightful measuring stick of the team\u2019s continuing growth.<\/p>\n

Each team has of course struggled with health. Heat sharpshooter Tyler Herro has only played 11 games this season. As of press time, Portland lists nine(!) players as out or questionable. But, whomever the Blazers suit up should have the fresher legs tonight. While the Heat are in the midst of a five-game road trip, Portland\u2019s squad has been sleeping in its own beds during a three-day lull between games.<\/p>\n

Miami Heat – (23-21) at Portland Trail Blazers (22-22) Thurs., Jan. 22 – 7:00pm Pacific<\/p>\n

How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the<\/a> Rip City Television Network<\/a><\/p>\n

How to stream: BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else<\/p>\n

How to listen: Trail Blazers Audio Network<\/a><\/p>\n

Trail Blazers Injuries: Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Kris Murray, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (Out); Jerami Grant, Jrue Holiday, Sidy Cissoko, Robert Williams III (Questionable).<\/p>\n

Heat Injuries: Tyler Herro, Terry Rozier (Out); Kel\u2019el Ware (Questionable).<\/p>\n

Kit: The Blazers will take the floor in its carpet City Edition<\/a> jerseys. Miami will wear its white Association Edition unis.<\/p>\n

Trail Blazers: L vs NY, L at GSW, W vs ATL, W vs LAL, W at SAC<\/p>\n

Heat: W vs PHX, L vs BOS, W vs OKC, L at GSW, W at SAC<\/p>\n

Trail Blazers:<\/a> Points, Avdija (26.2 per game). Rebounds, Clingan (10.9). Assists, Holiday (7.1). Steals, Thybulle (2.5). Blocks, Clingan (1.3).
Heat<\/a>: Points, Powell (23.7 per game). Rebounds, Ware (9.8). Assists, Mitchell (7.2). Steals, Smith (1.4). Blocks, Ware (1.1).<\/p>\n

Trail Blazers:<\/a> Offensive rating: 113.5 (21st place) Defensive rating: 115.4 (17th place)
Heat<\/a> Offensive rating: 113.7 (20th place) Defensive rating: 112.8 (8th place)<\/p>\n

Coming Attractions: The game is the front half of the Blazers\u2019 second back-to-back this week. The team plays the Raptors at home tomorrow before heading East to play at Boston on Monday and at Washington on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Eleven years into his NBA career, bowlegged former Blazers wing Norman Powell returns to Moda Center averaging a career-best 23.7 points per game. (His career average is just 13.8 points per game.) Taking the minutes of the oft-injured Herro, Powell enters tonight\u2019s contest as the Heat\u2019s leading scorer. Miami is currently the fifth highest scoring team in the league.<\/p>\n

Fred Katz of The Athletic shares Powell\u2019s thought process<\/a> (subscription required) as he looks for his own shot more than ever before.<\/p>\n

\u2026on a team in need of his off-the-dribble creation, he\u2019s become obsessed with opponents\u2019 footwork on closeouts.<\/p>\n

He receives passes and looks first to his defender\u2019s top leg. He reads which direction to drive from there. After more than a decade in the league, Powell\u2019s thought process has never been so granular.<\/p>\n

\u201cSay, I\u2019m trying to get a 3 off. So, when I\u2019m pulling behind (a dribbler and at) the 3-point arc, following the ball, if the (defender) is below the free-throw line, I know it\u2019s a catch-and-shoot,\u201d Powell said, lost in a web of jargon. \u201cNow, if he\u2019s playing in between, and he\u2019s trying to catch up, I know with my angle, the angle that he\u2019s gonna take is more horizontal.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, He\u2019s Just Getting Started<\/p>\n

Portland\u2019s breakout Most Improved Player candidate, Deni \u201cTurbo\u201d Avdija, gets the Jason Quick treatment<\/a> in The Athletic (subscription required).<\/p>\n

Oded Shalom coached Avdija on his Maccabi Under-15 and Under-16 teams. He told Quick that Avdija may already be the most impactful athlete to ever emerge from Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though he is only 25, I think he is Israel\u2019s most successful athlete in history,\u201d Shalom said. \u201cWe\u2019ve had some great gymnasts \u2014 and I hope everyone forgives me for saying it, because we\u2019ve had some great athletes \u2014 but I think Deni has become the greatest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avdija returned from a three-game absence resting a bad back and picked up right where he left off, tallying 30 points, eight assists and eight rebounds in a 117-110 win over the Sacramento Kings. He told Joe Freeman of the Oregonian he may need to shake up his sleep routine<\/a> to stay healthy.<\/p>\n

The sixth-year forward said he\u2019s doing a variety of things behind the scenes to keep his back limber, including extra stretching and proper vitamin consumption, but the biggest change is coming in an unexpected place: his bed. Avdija has been forced to adjust his sleeping position.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a stomach sleeper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

When someone mentioned that stomach sleeping was horrible for one\u2019s back, Avdija chuckled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know, but that\u2019s how I\u2019ve slept my whole life,\u201d he said. \u201cI need it to change for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

One reason I expect the Blazers to fare well against the Heat tonight is the steady excellence of Toumani Camara. This edition of Dave Deckard\u2019s mailbag<\/a> says the Belgian forward\u2019s effort is central to the Blazers\u2019 success.<\/p>\n

Camara\u2019s best characteristic is his dogged determination. You see it as he picks up opposing players full-court on defense, slides into the lane to take charges, and remains active in defensive sets. Other players might give up on plays. Camara is going to do something. It may not always work, but you\u2019re not going to stop him from trying. At the same time, he remains largely under control. Plenty of energy guys stand out, overcommitting or going for big gambles. Camara fits in. He\u2019s not only in range of the play, he\u2019s usually in position for the next one. That\u2019s not just effort, that\u2019s intelligence. Camara plays with the pace of a young player and the vision of a vet. That\u2019s special.<\/p>\n

After he dropped 30 Saturday in a home win over the Thunder, A\u2019ja Wilson\u2019s boyfriend and Heat big man Bam Adebayo, was named NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week. Spoelstra told the South Florida Sun Sentinel\u2019s Ira Winderman that Adebayo anchored the Heat attack<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a force of will, a force of nature. And as our captain, we turn to him when we have these kind of moments where we feel like we have to do whatever\u2019s necessary to try to do things.\u201d<\/p>\n

Donovan Clingan and company will have their hands full defensively. Adebayo has shot 45.7% from behind the arc this month. In comments to Andscape\u2019s Marc Spears, Adebayo was quick to credit Wilson for his improved play.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI would say the key to my play has been clearing the clutter,\u201d Adebayo said. \u201cJust keeping my same mentality and just focusing on me. Everyone knows who my significant other is. When you go through a lot of things, it\u2019s honestly one of the best things when you can relate to whatever she\u2019s going through and also whatever you\u2019re going through. \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cMost [significant others] that guys talk to either didn\u2019t play, they\u2019re just new to this and they don\u2019t fully understand this. But to have someone that fully 100 percent understands what you\u2019re going through is a blessing. Also, it helps having people around me that allow me to get things off my chest.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are your keys for a Blazers victory over the Heat?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Miami Heat visit Moda Center tonight for a rematch with Deni Avdija and the Portland Trail Blazers.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":553742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3778],"tags":[7,56618,37790,144,295,189,3881,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-553741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-miami-heat","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-blazers-game-previews","10":"tag-blazers-gameday-coverage","11":"tag-heat","12":"tag-miami","13":"tag-miami-heat","14":"tag-miamiheat","15":"tag-nba"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115940296347508132","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=553741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/553741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/553742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=553741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=553741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=553741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}