Miami Heat at Cleveland Cavaliers
Love Shaq
The Cavs (39-11, 26-24 ATS) are positively on fire and, as of Wednesday afternoon, had a 14-game lead on Chicago in the Central Division and a 5.5-game advantage over Orlando for the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Cleveland has won nine straight (6-3 ATS) and 19 of its past 22 (13-19 ATS).
Impressively, the Cavs have won their last six games without Delonte West (finger) and their last seven without Mo Williams (shoulder). West is listed as questionable for Thursday while Williams is expected to miss another 3-4 weeks.
The entire Cleveland roster has stepped up in their absences, especially Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq has scored at least 10 points in each of his last nine outings and he is coming off two consecutive double-doubles in victories over the Clippers (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Grizzlies (13 and 13).
“Shaq looks great,” said LeBron James, who has reached the double-digit mark in assists in five of his last six games even with West and Williams out of the lineup. “He’s motivated; he’s playing with a bounce in his step that he didn’t have to start the season.”
Insult to injury
The Heat have lost four of their last five (1-4 ATS) and are now in the midst of a tough three-game road trip to Boston Wednesday, Cleveland Thursday and Chicago Saturday.
“It’s big,” Rafer Alston told the Miami Herald. “It’s a grown man’s trip. We have to just buckle down and understand what’s at stake. If we can find a way to win all three, great. Win two of three, great. But we’re in no position to drop all three this trip.”
That’s because Miami (24-24, 23-25 ATS) was tied for seventh in the Eastern Conference and on the brink of the playoff picture as of Wednesday afternoon.
The Heat are also dealing with a growing list of injuries. Jermaine O’Neal’s status is uncertain after missing Monday’s loss to Milwaukee with back spasms. Udonis Haslem is also questionable with a back problem, Mario Chalmers is out at least one more week with a tear in his left thumb and Michael Beasley was sidelined for two games in late January as a result of a right knee injury.
Prior engagements
The Cavs have won both games against the Heat this season, both in Miami. Cleveland came away with a 111-104 victory on November 12 and recently pulled out a 92-91 win on January 25.
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The Heat, who are playing Boston and Cleveland on consecutive days, are 2-7 (3-6 ATS) in the second of back-to-back games so far this season.
Both the Heat (21-27 O/U) and the Cavs (23-27 O/U) have been relatively strong under plays this year. The under is 4-1 in Miami’s last five games and 7-2 in the team’s last nine.
San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers
Rodeo trip
The annual San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo begins at the AT&T Center Thursday and runs through February 21. That means it’s time for Tim Duncan and Co. to pack their bags and head out on an eight-game road trip all over the United States.
San Antonio (27-19, 23-23 ATS) is faced with its worst-ever record to start the yearly trek. The Spurs lost four of six in a late-January homestand and they found themselves two games back of Southwest Division leader Dallas heading into a date with Sacramento Wednesday.
“We have more work to do than usual,” head coach Gregg Popovich told the San Antonio Express-News of the upcoming journey. “We usually have a little bit better record.”
“You win a couple and lose a couple, and your confidence, like everything else, is up and down,” Duncan added. “We need a couple in a row to start believing in what we’re doing.”
Miller time
The Blazers (29-21, 27-23 ATS) were on a three-game losing streak before scoring a 114-112 overtime win at Dallas Saturday and following that up with a 98-79 home rout of Charlotte Monday.
Andre Miller scored a career-high 52 points against the Mavericks, coming within two points of Portland’s franchise record set by Damon Stoudamire on January 14, 2005.
Two days later, however, Miller was back to doing what he does best: passing. The point guard reached the double-digit assist mark for the seventh time this season, dishing out 10 dimes while attempting only six field goals in the win over Charlotte.
Unselfishness led to six different Blazers, including three off the bench, scoring in double-figures at the expense of the Bobcats. Not surprisingly, coach Nate McMillan was thrilled.
“I just liked the way we played tonight,” he noted. “It was a great win. We enjoyed this.”
Prior engagements
Portland is 2-0 against San Antonio so far this season. The Blazers were 2.5-point home favourites on November 6 and they covered the spread with a comfortable 96-84 victory. Portland was a 8.5-point road underdog December 23, but even without Brandon Roy the visitors scored a 98-94 upset.
Tony Parker played just 11 minutes in San Antonio’s first game against the Blazers before suffering an ankle injury. Parker has also missed the past two games with an ankle problem and he appears unlikely to play this week.
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The Spurs are 3-5 (3-5 ATS) in the second game when they have had to play on back-to-back days this season. The Blazers, with a visit to Utah on Wednesday’s schedule, are 7-3 (7-3 ATS) when they come back from a game on the previous night.
San Antonio (21-25 O/U) has been a decent under play this year, but Portland (28-22 O/U) has been a strong over play. The over is 6-1 in the Blazers’ last seven games.