School is back in session...
There's really nothing quite like game night in Portland- the weather dries up, the traffic gets worse, and Lloyd Center buzzes with unofficial scouting reports about how to slow down Flash (aka Dwyane Wade), Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the Miami Heat.
The Heat are hardly the same team that won an NBA championship two seasons ago. Sure, they have the big man in the middle (Portland fans know him as Public Enemy #1) but regardless of how many times he publicly denies it, the Big Aristotle has lost a step or two as evidenced by his relatively human 15.4 points and 1.88 blocks per game.
Even Dwyane Wade, the same D-Wade who almost single-handedly knocked the Dallas Mavericks out of the playoffs, has struggled this season. After battling knee and shoulder injuries this off-season, Wade has seen only limited minutes as he tries to work his way back into game shape. According to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, Wade threw down his first dunk on December 4th, nearly a full month and a half into the season...
Regardless of his status, D-Wade has to be priority number one for the Portland Trail Blazers. Wade averaged 34 points and 4 assists in two games against the Trail Blazers last season and, hurt or not, he always seems to bring his A-game to the Rose Garden.
Elsewhere on the roster, Jason Williams leads the Heat with 5.4 assists per game but Portland fans should be excited to see the match-up between the "old" Jason Williams and the league's "new" Jason Williams - Mr. Sergio Rodriguez. Sergio has been warming up against Trail Blazer trainer Bill Bayno since 6 o'clock (over an hour and a half before tip-off) and it looks like the Sophomore point guard is really expecting to torch the Heat.
Udonis Haslem leads the Heat in rebounds with an outstanding 8.9 per game. Haslem is extremely similar to Trail Blazer center Joel Przybilla in that he might not light up the scoreboard, but he does the little things to help his team win.
Because of Haslem's play this season, backup forward/center Alonzo Mourning has only averaged 16.1 minutes per game.
One of the biggest reasons that the Heat have struggled this season is because of their limited up-tempo attack. Miami only scores 89.5 points per game and they're 27th in the NBA in assists with 18.8 per game.
It might be time for Coach Nate McMillan to release the hounds and bring back that up-tempo attack that had Portland so energized this off-season! If all goes according to plan- the Trail Blazers will run the Heat out of the building and I'll extend my record to 5 - 1 on the season...
Pop some popcorn, grab a blanket and pull up a chair, because tip-off is in just 57 minutes!
