Five Takeaways from the Heat-Trail Blazers Game

The Heat snapped a three-game losing streak on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers last night at the Moda Center. A much needed win for Miami, if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes alive. Here are my five takeaways from the Heat-Trail Blazers game.

1. Hassan Whiteside dominance in the paint: Hassan Whiteside‘s play has been touch and go for the Heat, but last night was much different. Whiteside put on a 28 point, 11 rebound performance against the Blazers, getting much of his points inside the paint against Jusuf Nurkic (pronounced Yoo-suf Nur-kich). Whiteside has been known to make double-doubles for the Heat, but if Whiteside builds upon this performance while on the road with the Heat, it could be a sign of things to come for the big man out of Marshall.

2. Dwyane Wade continuing his farewell tour: Dwyane Wade continues to impress during his final season with the Heat. He made a near double-double coming off the bench for Miami, making 22 points and 9 rebounds. It should be also noted that Wade, along with Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki (pronounced No-vitz-ski), were given special all-star nods from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, in honor of their careers. There is no doubt that Wade’s final season is nothing short of special and NBA fans alike can agree on that.

3. Jake Layman: If you don’t know who Jake Layman is, then last night’s game was an introduction on the 6 foot 9 forward from Oregon. Layman put up a season high 25 points for the Trail Blazers. The reason for such a performance was that Portland had recently acquired Rodney Hood from the Cleveland Cavaliers, who is looking for a spot on the roster. Layman’s performance was something to behold, but with Hood in Portland, only time will tell where this could all lead to, but for now, Layman’s 25 point performance was very impressive.

4. Hero ball with CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard: Portland’s one-two punch combination of CJ McCollum and Damian Lillard looked to get the Blazers back in the game during the fourth quarter. Despite doing so in the middle of the fourth quarter, the many opportunities to take the lead and possibly win the game slipped away from the Blazers, as the Heat were fortunate enough to make the most of strengthening their lead over Portland. McCollum led the way for Portland with 33 points, while Lillard had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds.

5. Miami’s defense: For the pass three games, Miami’s defense, a long-standing staple for the team, was stagnant during the Heat’s home games. On the road, Miami regrouped its defense last night, creating 7 blocks and 11 steals total, with the most blocks coming from James Johnson, who had 3, and Whiteside, who had 4 steals. The Heat’s defense certainly came through for them, but now it’s time to capitalize from that performance.

The Heat are still on the road as they face the Sacramento Kings on Friday. Game starts Friday at 10pm, and will be televised locally on Sun Sports.