The Portland Trail Blazers are receiving praise for reaching the .500 mark after being seven games under on Dec. 26.
The person who is the least impressed by having a break-even record is Trail Blazers interim coach Tiago Splitter.
Portland looks to continue its rise and win for the 11th time in the past 14 games when it hosts the Miami Heat on Thursday night.
Being .500 after 44 games displays a big rate of improvement for the Trail Blazers, who have experienced four consecutive losing campaigns.
In fact, the Trail Blazers already have more victories (22) than they produced in the entire campaign two years ago when they went 21-61.
“That shouldn’t be our goal,” Splitter said of .500. “I’m not big on .500 or number of games you should win or not.
” … I don’t think .500 is a number you should aim for.”
Portland has won its past three games — 16-point home triumphs over the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers as well as a 117-110 road victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
The Trail Blazers figure to be well-rested against the Heat due to receiving three straight off days. Splitter said that should help veterans Jrue Holiday (calf) and Jerami Grant (Achilles), who have been dealing with injuries. Both players are listed as questionable for Thursday.
The Portland injuries have created opportunities, and one player who is taking advantage is undrafted rookie guard Caleb Love.
Love starred in college at both North Carolina and Arizona but wasn’t highly thought of by NBA talent evaluators.
However, the Trail Blazers signed Love after the draft and he has carved himself a role, averaging 11.1 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists while playing 21.9 minutes per game.
“Defensively, he’s bringing a lot. Offensively, he’s got game,” Splitter said. “If he has confidence, he’s going to play well. For me, the only question I had before the season was the defensive part. He’s playing with effort every night.”
The Heat are looking to ride the momentum generated in a high-octane 130-117 victory at Sacramento on Tuesday.
Miami made 21 of 42 3-point attempts during the contest. Both the number of makes and the 50% success rate are the third best of the season for the Heat.
“Being able to do that gives us a different element to our play,” star big man Bam Adebayo said. “We already play with pace, we crash the paint, that just adds another level of success for us.”
Simone Fontecchio tied his career high with five treys for all 15 of his points against the Kings. Adebayo and Norman Powell each made four 3-pointers. Powell scored 22 points.
Adebayo contributed 25 points, seven rebounds and five assists after having just four points on 1-of-13 shooting one night earlier during a 135-112 loss against the Golden State Warriors in San Francisco.
Pelle Larsson also played well against Sacramento, compiling 16 points on 7-of-9 shooting, a career-best nine assists and six rebounds.
“A few things in our offense are similar to what we were doing at (the University of) Arizona, so that definitely helps,” the second-year pro said. “… It’s more just having another year under my belt with these guys, with the coaches, learning from them. … I feel way more comfortable.”
The Heat have won eight of the past 10 meetings, including a 136-131 home victory over the Trail Blazers on Nov. 8. In that contest, Miami’s Nikola Jovic scored a career-best 29 points and added nine rebounds and six assists off the bench.
