The Portland Trail Blazers (22-22, 9th in Western Conference) host the Miami Heat (23-21, 8th in Eastern Conference) on Thursday at Moda Center.
The Trail Blazers will return to the hardwood after resting three days in a row, following their previous matchup, a 117-110 win over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. That win over the Kings was a one-off road game that extended their winning streak to three. As for the Heat, they’re coming off a 130-117 win over the Kings on Tuesday, but they’ve been trading wins and losses of late while posting a 3-3 record over their last six outings.
Here are three key storylines to know heading into this matchup:
1. Deni Avdija’s drives are paying off: Avdija’s game has evolved with every season since he debuted in the 2020-21 season. However, those strides have now become a massive leap in 2025-26, and he’s a strong candidate to win the Kia Most Improved Player of the Year Award. He averaged 16.9 ppg in 2024-25, but he’s putting up 26.2 ppg in 2025-26, the 11th-best mark in the NBA. Another area in which Avdija is shining is his ability to get to the free-throw line. He ranks second in the league in free-throw attempts per game at 9.9, and he leads the league in drives per game at 20.2. Avdija also ranks seventh in the NBA in Efficiency at 26.9, ahead of names such as Donovan Mitchell, Jamal Murray and Anthony Edwards. However, his ability to drive to the basket is what has separated him from the other premium scorers in today’s NBA.
2. Norman Powell shining for Heat: Powell had a career-best season in 2024-25 with the LA Clippers, averaging a career-high 21.8 points per game while starting 60 games. However, he was traded to the Heat in the offseason, and the initial expectation was that he’d be a complementary piece in an offense led by Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo. However, Powell has surpassed even the most optimistic expectations since the trade. Not only is he averaging 23.7 ppg, but he’s doing it at an efficient rate, shooting over 48% from the floor, over 41% from 3 and over 84% from the free-throw line. Powell is actually leading the Heat in scoring over Herro (21.9 ppg) and Adebayo (17.2 ppg), and he’s making a legitimate case to be named to the 2026 All-Star Game.
3. Which team has edge in clutch? A “clutch” situation is a game that sees both teams being separated by five points or fewer in the final five minutes of the fourth quarter and/or overtime. Under that definition, the Trail Blazers rank second in the Association in clutch games with 27 while posting a 15-12 record. Meanwhile, the Heat rank lower with “only” 19 clutch games, but they’ve also banked an 11-8 record in that sample. The Trail Blazers will have to rely on their offense — just like they’ve done it all season long — if they’re going to win in the clutch in this particular scenario, as they’re shooting 49.7% from the floor in those situations. But they also need to do a good job taking care of the ball since they’re committing a league-worst 1.6 turnovers in clutch situations. Doing so might be easier said than done for Portland, as they’ll be going up against a Heat team that ranks eighth in the NBA in defensive rating (112.8, the third-best mark in the Eastern Conference). The Heat have established some positive trends in the clutch, ranking second in turnovers per game (0.6) and second in free-throw percentage (87%) that help them close out close games.
