Miami Heats Things Up In the Rose Garden

Tuesday night, the Blazers met with the Miami Heat at the Rose Garden and after two losses, Portland was looking for a win against one of the best players in the league to boost their spirits.

Starters:

Brandon Roy
Steve Blake
Martell Webster
Greg Oden
DANTE CUNNINGHAM?!

That's right, your eyes do not fool you. LaMarcus Aldridge had a knee bone contusion and opted to sit out of the game(On the positive end, LA looked damn good in his suit)so none other than rookie, Dante Cunningham stepped up to fill in his spot. He tallied a respectable 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist in 18 minutes of play. I think nerves got the best of him in his first NBA career start, but that's just me. I am officially a member of the Team Dante movement, which is not slowing down! The rook offers some much needed hustle and energy on the court. He'll definitely be one to watch to see how he'll develop with more playing time and experience.

Box Score:

Brandon Roy was once again on top with 25 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. The shooting guard shot a measly 9 - 25 from the field and 3 - 8 from 3-point range. Andre Miller takes the silver spot with 18 points, 3 rebounds and 6 assists. Juwan Howard played some serious game and tallied 14 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assits. Also, Greg Oden had a remarkable game with 13 points and a career high 20 rebounds, count 'em 20! Yet all of these stats were not enough to win the game.

Miami came away with the win 107 - 100.

It was a close battle in the end but the Blazers couldn't stand the heat (pun not intended). This game ended with the Blazers not having a lead in 11.5 quarters. The ability was there but the drive just wasn't. Things still aren't clicking quite right for Portland. Too many times I saw turnovers from lack of communication or no communication at all. Hopefully we get out of the slump and get out of it soon! This loss means a 3 game losing streak for the Blazers, the first in over a year.

The Blazers next play the Houston Rockets on Saturday at the Rose Garden.

Keys:

1. Keep Houston out of the Paint - With the loss of Yao and TMac, Houston's game relies much more on speed and drives into the paint. If we can stop players like Aaron Brooks, Trevor Ariza, Kyle Lowry and Luis Scola from being permanent fixtures down there, we have a good chance of pulling a W out of this thing.
2. Low Scoring Game - If we can keep Houston under 100 points that will mean good things for us. We play better and win more games when we keep the opponent under 100.
3. FREE THROWS - whoever can get to the line the most will have a better chance of winning. Plain and simple.