Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV, the Miami Heat (47-21) will host the Portland Trailblazers (45-25) in a game that will be special because of the man starting at center for Miami--Greg Oden. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Blazers fans can hear the action on 1190 KEX Portland, while Miami fans may find the radio broadcast on 560 WQAM.
Tonight would be Oden's first action against the team that drafted him first overall in 2007 ahead of Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, who may win the MVP award this year for the first time in his career. Oden is downplaying the importance of facing Portland though, saying coyly that his only motivation is grabbing a W.
"It's a game we need to win," Oden said. "It's just about this team and us getting a win right now." Heat coach Erik Spoelstra elaborated more on Oden's behalf.
"I'm sure it'll be special for him," Spoelstra said. "This has been a four-year journey for him just to get to this point. He's put in a tremendous amount of work behind the scenes. We couldn't be happier for him to get to this point."
Oden is right though about how important a victory is. Miami is within striking distance of the first place Indiana Pacers, but have dropped seven of their last 11 games and struggled on the defensive end.
"Our locker room is angry," coach Erik Spoelstra said. "We're not accustomed to this type of play, these type of standards, particularly on the defensive end, and if we want to change, we have to look inward."
Spoelstra's comments were backed up by Chris Bosh, who blames a dearth of communication for their defensive woes. "We're not expressing ourselves in the locker room or on the court," Bosh said Saturday after losing to the Pelicans. "So I figure I'll be the first one to say it -- we suck. And if we don't play better, we'll be watching the championship at home."
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