Portland Trail Blazers vs Miami Heat Prediction: Chauncey Billups' team is making progress

Prediction for the Portland Trail Blazers vs Miami Heat match will occur on January 12. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

If the road trip continues for the Heat, Chauncey Billups' team has just finished it, and not badly at that - two wins in five games. Portland beat Milwaukee (105-102), one of the Eastern Conference leaders, and New Orleans (119-100), the last team in the West. The Trail Blazers lost to the Los Angeles Lakers (106-114), Detroit (115-118) and Dallas (111-117).

Portland's overall record is 13-24. The Trail Blazers are 13th in the Western Conference, and they are not exactly an outsider, but the Oregon team is already 5.0 wins out of the play-in zone.

The Heat hit the road after back-to-back home losses to Indiana (115-128) and Utah (100-136). Erik Spoelstra's team won their first game against Sacramento but lost in overtime 118-123 (102-102). Miami then bounced back with two straight wins over Golden State (114-98) and Utah (97-92).

Despite Jimmy Butler's impending trade, Miami is not slowing down and is on the edge of the playoff zone in the Eastern Conference standings—in seventh place with a 19-17 record, just 0.5 wins out of the top 6.

Miami beat Portland twice in the last championship, 106-96 away and 142-82 at home.

This will be the first meeting between the rivals in the current championship.

Miami is almost in the play-in zone in the East, and Portland is only 13th in the West, but a Trail Blazers win would not be a sensation. For one thing, Chauncey Billups' team is making progress and could even get into the play-in race. Secondly, the Heat will be affected by Butler's absence sooner or later. Why shouldn't it happen now at the Moda Centre?