Another nightmare matchup for our middling Heat, as Udonis Haslem follows up his unfair face-off with Yao Ming with a dose of the Blazers' big and deep frontcourt. Haslem checked LaMarcus Aldridge last time the two teams met while Michael Beasley guarded Joel Przybilla, but it's on when Greg Oden comes off the bench. Oden has been slowly coming around, but the entrance of our 6-8 and under frontcourt could well jump-start his progress. Joel Anthony needs to bring it tonight.

Matchup of the night: Brandon Roy vs. Dwyane Wade

Look for Wade to make up for his weak effort against Houston with a strong showing against Roy. It's unfortunate, but Wade has to win these elite matchups for MIami to have any chance against the likes of Portland.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Rudy Fernandez

I overlooked him last time, and he burned us. I won't make that mistake again.

Like the Portland game on ESPN earlier this year, last night's game was one this Heat roster simply can't win as constructed.

Yao Ming's 28 points and 11 rebounds was more than enough against a helpless Udonis Haslem, even as Tracy McGrady fulfilled one of my keys to a Heat upset with a 2-7 shooting night. Dwyane Wade, the recently-honored Eastern Conference player of the week, negated any positives from McGrady's dud with a 7-23 shooting effort of his own.

The differences between Houston and Miami are more profound than height, however. The Rockets bring game-changers like Carl Landry and Aaron Brooks off the bench in relief of perhaps the game's best starting lineup. And remember, this is a group that is still missing Shane Battier, and one in which a solid guard like Luther Head can't even get off the bench. The team is stacked, and I expect them to play the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in what will be one hell of a series.

As for our guys we're back to our comfort zone at .500. Like I've been saying, get used to it. We're going to live here all year.

Miami gets a heck of a test tonight against a stacked Rockets team that finally seems to be figuring out how good it is. Looking down the list, there's not many matchups that favor Miami:

Center: Yao Ming vs. Udonis Haslem (HOUSTON)

Power forward: Luis Scola vs. Michael Beasley (DRAW)

Small forward: Ron Artest vs. Shawn Marion (HOUSTON)

Shooting guard: Tracy McGrady vs. Dwyane Wade (MIAMI)

Point guard: Rafer Alston vs. Mario Chalmers (HOUSTON)

Frontcourt depth: Chuck Hayes/Carl Landry vs. Joel Anthony/Yakhouba Diawara (HOUSTON)

Backcourt depth: Brent Barry/Aaron Brooks vs. Chris Quinn/Daequan Cook (DRAW)

Formula a Heat win: a brilliant Wade performance + a bad shooting night for McGrady + a game-changing effort by an unexpected Heat player (Cook, Chalmers, etc.)

Matchup of the night: Tracy McGrady vs. Dwyane Wade.

One of those classic scoring guard matchups. Wade is the better player, but McGrady can fill it up when he's on.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Yao Ming

Because he's 7-6 and crazy good, but also because of the matchup. Although I am of two minds about this: on one hand, the height advantage Yao has every night is more prominent against Udonis Haslem. On the other, if Yao can shoot over anyone he wants anyway, what's the difference between shooting over a 6-11 guy and a 6-8 one like Haslem? Here's Magic center Dwight Howard quoted in the Houston Chronicle:

"His turnaround jump shot, nobody can block it unless you're 7-8," Howard said.

"It's like a beanstalk. You got to chop."

Let's get chopping.

Miami welcomes one of its likely competitors for the seventh or eighth Eastern Conference playoff seed tonight at the AAA. If that doesn't make you scrap whatever Saturday night plans you might have had, then you just don't like professional sports, and I feel sorry for you. I'm not even mad. I just feel sorry for you.

Matchup of the night: Danny Granger vs. Shawn Marion

Granger is turning into an unmitigated beast, giving the Pacers the All-Star forward they appeared to be relinquishing when they wrapped Jermaine O'Neal in bubble wrap and snuck him across the Canadian border. While a lot of people projected Granger as an above-average player, I'm not sure anyone thought he would be this damn good.

Opposing player I'm scared of: T.J. Ford

This team makes me a lot more nervous than a 5-6 team has any right to, but I'm just not thrilled with the matchups. Marquis Daniels' length could give Dwyane Wade some trouble, Troy Murphy's rebounding acumen could overwhelm the faltering Michael Beasley. Rasho Nestervoic will create some issues for Udonis Haslem (our guy's shorter than the average center, if I haven't mentioned that before). Aside from Granger, however, the player I'm most concerned about is Ford. I'm not sure that Mario Chalmers and/or Chris Quinn will be able to keep him out of the lane, and our bigs aren't protecting the rim if he gets there with any regularity. Beasley will foul him, though, if that counts for anything.

Now that's a three-forward lineup.

Toronto's unfair front line of Chris Bosh, Jermaine O'Neal and Andrea Bargnani laid waste to Miami's flawed frontcourt, negating a magnificent effort from Dwyane Wade, a season-best performance from Shawn Marion. This is a rough loss on paper, but it's nearly impossible to beat a team that was shooting as well as the Raptors last night. Miami gave itself a chance, but you need an occasional three-pointer to rim out for the other guys to win close games like this. What are you going to do?

And it's back to .500. Our room still available?

Notepad

• Wade echoed Chris Bosh's effort against Orlando a night earlier, scoring 40 in a loss. Wade was absolutely flawless last night, keeping down the turnovers and even blocking 5 shots. Brilliant! Can we stop worrying about the ankle now?
• The Shawn Marion trade value index skyrocketed after last night's 20-point, 14-rebound effort. I'm fighting the urge to say Miami should hold on to him - it helps that this kind of performance came in a loss. It also proves that Michael Beasley and Marion are incompatible - Marion went off while playing power forward alongside Daequan Cook, rather than small forward/hybrid forward/whatever next to Beasley.
• I'm still not overly concerned, but Beasley was a complete non-factor tonight. I'm still confident he'll straighten it out. Udonis Haslem had a dud of a game too, but he was due to come back to earth eventually. I still think he'll tend more to the 12 and 10 double-double - his shot just wasn't falling.
• Marion's board work helped mitigate a huge Raptors rebounding advantage among the bigs. Bosh and O'Neal outrebounded Beasley and Haslem 28-14, though Beasley's minutes were limited.
• Chris Quinn has pushed the point guard position almost to a platoon, getting 24 minutes to Mario Chalmers' 28. Neither was spectacular nor disastrous. Not that I want those guys out of the rotation, but I'd like to get a long look at Wade and Cook alongside the Three Forwards. Wade's doing all the playmaking anyway, so I'm not sure what's stopping Erik Spoelstra from letting him play point guard and putting a two-guard next to him.
• Even with Beasley's foul trouble, Mark Blount was nowhere to be found. Barring injury, I believe we might have seen the end of Blount as a regular rotation player. When Jamaal Magloire's back, Blount might be looking at the inactive list.

We'll start with some scare tactics from the Magic blog Third Quarter Collapse, which published this cautionary tale after Orlando's 103-90 win over Toronto on Tuesday.

That Chris Bosh scored 40 points against Orlando should come as no surprise; Magic coach Stan Van Gundy predicted as much before the game. Further, of the six games in his career in which he's scored at least 40 points, three have come against the Magic. He simply has their number. I didn't keep track of his shot breakdown during the game, but it didn't seem to me that he missed any of the jumpers he took from the top of the key. ESPN'com's shot chart bailed me out by showing he went 5-of-7 from that distance. More impressively, I recall all of those looks being contested. The man is 6'10", can handle the ball, and does not miss from 18-feet even when the hand of another 6'10" man is in his face. And he's 24. Fear him.

OK, I will.

And I'll add that Bosh, after last night, is now officially No. 1 with a bullet on my list of 2010 free agent targets. He is utterly brilliant, and you know he wants the hell out of Toronto. I don't think guys like putting up 40 and still losing by double digits. Let's make it happen for him. How about a little recruiting work while he's in town, fellas? Beasley?

Matchup of the night: Anthony Parker vs. Dwyane Wade.

Parker isn't a marquee guy, but he's good enough to give Wade some trouble on the tail end of the back-to-back. If Wade is a step slow because of the ankle, Parker's defense might catch up and contain him. He's probably not going to really take advantage offensively, but lockdown defense on a hobbled Wade would be disastrous for Miami.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Chris Bosh

See above. 

Injured Heat foward Dorell Wright has rehabilitated his way into a persistent injury, sayeth the Herald:

An aggressive approach to rehab from knee surgery has led to painful results for Heat forward Dorell Wright, who extended his stint on the inactive list Tuesday against the Wizards.

Wright said he might have tried to come back too fast from surgery last March to repair a torn ligament.

Maybe I'm naive, but how does this happen in the NBA? Doesn't the Heat have its injured millionaires under near-constant supervision, to keep a well-intentioned player from doing unwitting damage? Should Wright really have to accept the responsibility of extending his absence because he was "working too hard" to return?

I understand he was a restricted free agent this summer, so maybe Wright fell into a gap in the system, or maybe an athlete with Wright's paycheck should seek out the professional guidance of his own volition. But it's unfortunate when a player is allowed to unknowingly sabotage himself like this.

Meanwhile, week six of Jamaal Magloire's expected six-to-eight week recovery period is looming, and it's looking more like he'll use the whole eight.

"I would say probably in the next couple of weeks he'll be able to do more with the team," (head coach Erik) Spoelstra said.

The story notes that Miami is of particular need for an extra big next week:

Starting next Monday, the Heat begins a four-game run against the Rockets' Yao Ming, the Blazers' Greg Oden, the Suns' Shaquille O'Neal and the Clippers' Chris Kaman.

It's probably charitable to believe Magloire would do much to impede any of the above. I'm just not sure Magloire has anything left to offer. Either way, keep Udonis Haslem in your prayers.

Solid enough. Every road win is a good road win in the NBA, even if it comes against the lowly Wiz. Miami's back on the fun side of .500 in what I still expect to be a season spent toggling between a couple games above average and a couple games below. A few more road wins - this was just the second out of six games - would help Miami make an extended stay in positive territory.

Notepad

• Dwyane Wade was a soldier, playing through a gimpy ankle and God knows what else to hang up 19 points and 10 assists in 35 minutes. He did miss 10 of 16 field goal attempts and turn the ball over 5 times, however.
• You know what helps when Wade's shot isn't falling - other people's shots falling. Mario Chalmers and Chris Quinn went a combined 5-9 on 3-pointers, Yakhouba Diawara made half of his 4 attempts from long distance and Udonis Haslem was at his efficient best, milking 12 points out of 8 shot attempts.
• Speaking of Chalmers and Quinn, I'm really liking the dynamic the Heat has at point right now. Chalmers finally played like a worthy starter again, eliminating any talk that he should give way to Quinn, and the veteran Quinn continues to excel in whatever minutes he gets. That situation's not looking so bad.
• A homecoming Michael Beasley was probably too busy nodding at his assembled family and friends to put on much of a show for them. That was one of the lamer efforts of his young career, but I'm inclined to give him a pass on his first trip home. No worries.
• Is it bad that I can appreciate Shawn Marion's play only in the context of the effect it may have on his trade value? I'm thinking it is, but I can't get past it. Marion put up a solid 12 and 9 in a team-high 41 minutes. Did you see that, league? Not bad, right? He could totally help you.
• Now that the league isn't listening anymore, I'll whisper to you that I think Miami is a better team with Daequan Cook on the floor, assuming he plays like he did Tuesday, and will be better still when James Jones returns.
• Joel Anthony - 20 minutes. Mark Blount - DNP-CD. Was I right or was I right?
• Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison pretty much had their way offensively. It's a shame this team sucks so hard, because those guys deserve better.

The overarching story here is the health of Dwyane Wade, who is starting to feel those aches and pains that naturally follow from Wade's recent workload and persistent style of play. You'll recall that Miami beat the Wiz rather handily recently, and there's no reason why that can't happen again at their place. But it's hard to think about anything but Wade's health. It's a paradox - Miami can't win without him playing major minutes, but if he plays major minutes he's probably going to get hurt, and then Miami really can't win. That's a real pickle.

Matchup of the night: Caron Butler vs. Shawn Marion.

Butler got thoroughly shut down last time out against Miami, so you know he'd like to set things right. Marion's greatest value to this team is in defense and rebounding, so it'd be nice to see him put up strong efforts in each category.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Andray Blatche.

He certainly didn't do it last time out against the Heat (1 point, 1 rebound in 13 minutes) but Blatche is the kind of frontcourt presence that should fare well against The Three Forwards. I'm kind of shocked he's not playing more, particularly with Brendan Haywood out. I think he'll get it together.

The Miami Heat held practice without the Miami Heat on Monday, as franchise player and holder of postseason fortunes Dwyane Wade sat out with a sore ankle and assorted other boo-boos.

The Sun-Sentinel quotes Wade sounding all defiant and stuff:

"That's not my goal, to make people think I can make it through the whole season," he said of the latest advertising campaign for his sneakers. "I want to play the whole season.

"It's not about making other people believe that. I just want to be out here every game with my teammates, as we continue to grow."

Yeah, now that you mention it, basing a sneaker ad on overcoming your injury history is kind of lame. Can't we just do cool characters like LeBron?

Anyway, as this post's incendiary headline suggests, any injury or combination of same that slows or sidelines Wade cripples this team's playoff hopes (see what I did there?) Whatever improvement this team has made - and it's made a little - would be all but lost without Wade, the star that makes everyone else's incremental progress possible. This year would look like the aimless doodle Michael Beasley drew that one time he went to class at Kansas State University.

I know these little dings happen in an NBA season, but it's early, and I'm officially starting to worry. It feels like foreshadowing.

Dwyane Wade - fall down seven times, get up eight weeks later.

Let's start with the good news: Dwyane Wade continues to play at an MVP level; Daequan Cook and Chris Quinn are actually giving the Heat a decent bench; the minutes of Mark Blount and Yakhouba Diawara continue to be appropriately very limited; Udonis Haslem continues to be a double-double machine despite his noted size disadvantage.

That's about it.

The bad news: Mario Chalmers earned the starting point guard spot fair and square,  but he's not doing a whole lot lately to keep it. It would probably shatter his confidence to bench him now - that's the danger of sliding a rookie in the lineup right away - but you can't face a team missing its top-flight point guard and get completely owned by his replacement. Will Solomon put up 15 points and 11 assists vs. Chalmers' 5 points, 3 assists and 6 fouls. That's unacceptable for a starter - if Wade's going to do all the playmaking, just make him the point guard and slide Cook in at shooting guard. If not, maybe it's time for the veteran Quinn to take over and let Chalmers decompress a little.

Frontcourts like this one are going to give Miami fits. They're just too damn big. I don't want to belabor this point all season, but it's costing the Heat wins, and there are absolutely no in-house options. That includes the concerted team-rebounding effort I called for in the preseason. Haslem got his 10, Beasley got 6 in 25 minutes, and nobody else managed more than 4, though Joel Anthony was effective in his limited time. Shawn Marion's biggest asset to this team should be his rebounding from the small forward position, but it's just not happening. You can't win getting outrebounded by 17. And Haslem and Beasley can't defend Chris Bosh and Jermaine O'Neal - they're playing over their heads.

After his limited workload against Washington, I hate seeing Wade have to expend so much energy just to keep his team close. It's remarkable that fatigue isn't an issue for him yet, but it will be soon if this persists.

The 5-4 Heat encounters another centrist Eastern Conference team in the 4-4 Toronto Raptors. Jose Calderon may or may not be in the lineup, and his absence would make Miami prohibitive favorites. A win would put the Heat two games over .500 for the first time this season, with rematches against the Wizards and Raptors looming this week and suggesting the possibility of a nice early-season win streak.

Matchup of the night: Jermaine O'Neal vs. Udonis Haslem.

This is the kind of matchup Haslem needs to win, or at least break even, for the Heat's small lineup to work. O'Neal is in steep decline from his All-Star prime but is still a more than serviceable post, and Haslem will have a hard time stopping his short jumpers and turnarounds if he's getting the ball in the post. The nightly opposing size advantage is pretty severe here, as Haslem gives up at least three inches to J.O.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Chris Bosh.

Obviously, I know, but the rest of this roster doesn't exactly strike fear into one's heart. Bosh is the only guy, unless Calderon plays, who can really beat you single-handedly. I'm hoping he plays well, if only to give Michael Beasley a stiff test and support my theory that he should be target No. 1 in 2010.

It really doesn't get much better than that: balanced scoring, solid and at times impenetrable defense, a huge rebounding edge. An absolutely ideal game for the Heat.

Notepad: Joel Anthony appears to have permanently leapfrogged Mark Blount on the depth chart...Perhaps ditto with Chris Quinn over Marcus Banks...Shawn Marion had a very good game, hopefully beginning the process of restoring his trade value...JaVale McGee is looking like a steal. Shame we couldn't snag him too...Four players in double figures and three with 9 points. Everyone who played at least 20 minutes scored at least 3 field goals...You can see how Dwyane Wade's turnovers go down when his teammates are making plays. He had just one last night, probably because he didn't feel pressures to do it all...Wicked dunk by Michael Beasley.

Our middling Heat face its last-place division rival tonight, hosting the 1-5 Washington Wizards. Gilbert Arenas is hurt, Brenden Haywood is hurt, and DeShawn Stevenson can't feel his face, though that is more a psychosomatic condition than a physical ailment.

Any objective viewer would notch this in the Heat's W column, but we all know NBA basketball is impossible to predict, and this Miami team is particularly hard to gauge. Given the way it beat San Antonio and competed with Portland, we should be good. But the Wiz has plenty of weapons left to get out of SoFla with win Numero Dos. That's why they play the games or whatever.

Matchup of the night: Antawn Jamison vs. Michael Beasley.

A compelling battle of a vintage tweener forward against a spanking new one. Jamison has long perfected the kind of hybrid frontcourt game that Beasley is crafting now. He started with a sturdy, sensible work vest made of those infuriating little flippy jump hooks and has steadily added pieces of flair over the course of his career, tacking on a fadeaway and a deep stroke to eventually become the elite offensive weapon he is today. Beasley would do well to rip a page or two from Jamison's best-selling book and base chapters of his own promising story on the valuable information he finds.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Caron Butler.

Caron Butler in a Wizards uniform. Banner in the rafters. Caron Butler in a Wizards uniform. Banner in the rafters. Bittersweet much?

You may feel pangs of regret about sacrificing a strong young frontcourt to the pursuit of a championship, even though that pursuit was consummated with the elusive title. Those pangs of regret will really hurt tonight as you watch former Heat lottery pick and Shaquille O'Neal trade chip Butler playing the game, all matured into exactly the stud we projected him to be. Try not to picture how beautiful a Dwyane Wade/Butler/Lamar Odom trio would look skipping to and fro at the AAA. Just remind yourself: the NBA is all about titles, and we got one. So it was all worth it. Right?

The New York Daily News files this nugget:

Eddy Curry met briefly with his agent, Leon Rose, before last night's game. Curry has been sidelined since the second game of the season with a bruised right knee. He is expected to be out another two weeks.

D'Antoni had removed Curry from the rotation before the Knick season opener.

There is interest in the center from the Spurs and Heat. Miami may be willing to trade D'Antoni favorite Shawn Marion, but a potential deal with Curry is complicated because their salaries don't match.

I'd do Marion for Curry and Quentin Richardson, or for Curry and Malik Rose. I'd really like to get Nate Robinson or David Lee involved, but that seems a little much.

Curry would fit in nicely at center next to natural power forward Udonis Haslem and Michael Beasley, who is starting to look more and more like a small forward with an advanced post game. There's obviously a lot to be concerned about with Curry, but he's a good post scorer and a wide body. Haslem and Beasley can help on the boards. It would be nice if Curry would step up his defense from non-existent to mediocre. Curry would also do well to drop a few pounds before Pat Riley sees him without his shirt on.

Curry's arrival and Marion's exit would end the necessary but unsustainable three-forward lineup the Heat currently fields. It could also help Miami stop donning the disguise of a running team and get back to the old smash-mouth brand of Heat basketball.

Plus, Curry's contract expires in the summer of 2010, so there's not a huge downside. Here are the scenarios, as I see them:

• Curry turns into an All-Star center, forming a deadly trio with Wade and Beasley. Miami uses free agency to fill needs rather than pursue a major target like Chris Bosh.
• Curry fills the need without turning into a star, and the Heat locks him up in a reasonable contract while still re-signing Dwyane Wade and bringing in a high-end free agent.
• Curry totally flames out and falls out of the rotation. The Heat is left with its current roster, save for shooters Daequan Cook and James Jones splitting time at small forward in Marion's place, and allows Curry's contract to expire in time for a major push in 2010 free agency.

Hard to see a downside to this deal, if you share my opinion that Marion will never have a clear, productive role with the Heat. And I don't think New York can do better for Curry than a contract-seeking Marion, an All-Star in the system Mike D'Antoni is instituting.

It's not you, it's me.

These are the words Heat president Pat Riley should be uttering to head coach Erik Spoelstra this morning. The roster Riley has handed the rookie coach makes it all but impossible to win games like the one it lost to Portland on Wednesday, no matter how prepared or focused it may be under Spoelstra's guidance. This team has a ceiling, and though it has the makeup and pride to pound on that ceiling all season, it's not going away.

We all knew this roster was soft at point guard and center entering the season, but it's hard to summon the moral outrage while you're rooting on your team. It's hard to say the team needs a real center as you watch Udonis Haslem turn in one heroic effort after another. It's hard to say the team is weak at point guard when rookie Mario Chalmers is holding his own against the league's best. It all feels unfair - those guys aren't using size or experience as crutches, so what right do we, as fans, have to make excuses for them?

Here's the thing: one can recognize a weakness without condemning the player trying valiantly to alleviate it. The way I see it, Haslem and Chalmers are being put in a position to fail. That they are not failing is a testament to their talent and grit, but it doesn't change the fact that success, for them, has a very limited definition. Given the limitations they brought to the job, there's only so much they can accomplish. What looks like achievement is really the absence of disaster. Again, that's a testament to the two men's character, but it's not the recipe for a playoff team.

Let's get to the proverbial brass tacks.  

Haslem is a power forward. He should be allowed to play against other power forwards alongside a center who can share the heavy lifting. The Heat roster makes that impossible, so he enters every game at a size disadvantage.

Chalmers is a rookie point guard. He should be playing behind a veteran who can manage the game and learn something new every night, not sharing a starting backcourt with a superstar with a heightened sense of urgency and a low tolerance for youthful mistakes.

The roster is small, but not because of any ideological tilt towards running. It's just small, so it has no choice but to try to run, because 6-8 and 6-11 don't look so far apart in a blur. But while the collective height says run, the skill sets say otherwise. Dwyane Wade doesn't need open-court chaos to reach the hoop - he can split any defense, man or zone, an NBA team can concoct. Michael Beasley doesn't want a footrace to the low block - he's patient, probing, methodical. Haslem's not throwing down any fast-break alley oops while some 7-foot stiff lumbers four steps behind. And Chalmers, once again, is a rookie, so non-stop fast break basketball is like fast-forwarding a song while he's trying to learn the lyrics. The only primary player the running fits is Shawn Marion, whose awkward fit with the team only confirms that its attempted identity as a running team is contrived.

The Heat is .500 right now, a neighborhood it's likely to inhabit for much or all of the season. The team has gotten by with a 6-8 center and a novice point guard. But let's be clear - that's all this team can do. Getting by, with a roster like this, is equivalent to success. And without personnel changes, all we have to look forward to this season.

I hate to fall on cliches, but here goes: it is what it is.

Portland was bigger, more talented, and deeper than the Heat. Dwyane Wade was the best player on the court, winning the battle of stars over a hampered Brandon Roy, and Michael Beasley played LaMarcus Aldridge to a draw (though I know they weren't guarding each other much). But there were just too many things to overcome: Miami doesn't have a player like Rudy Fernandez coming off its bench, and its roster of bigs is just a physical level below the Blazers. Udonis Haslem held his own before succumbing. Mario Chalmers learned that even a guy like Steve Blake, not exactly a matchup you circle on your calendar, is a handful.

The numbers really say it all: Miami's 17 turnovers to Portland's 12; Miami's 7 offensive rebounds to Portland's 12. Miami played at a high level for a long time, but not high enough and not long enough. The Blazers were and are a better team.

A few other things: It's apparent that Shawn Marion's value to the team is in trade, not in uniform...the trend of Joel Anthony getting the first backup minutes is encouraging...Chris Quinn might have sealed Marcus Banks' fate...Wade is an absolute mother. God I love that dude...I'm starting to question how effectively Beasley can rebound at power forward; I'm kind of starting to see him as a small forward if Marion is moved for a center and Haslem shifts to power forward....I'll ask again: please don't start Yakhouba Diawara ever again. He can help, but let's not get carried away.

The second national TV game of the Heat's season arrives tonight, as Miami hosts Portland in an 8 p.m. ESPN broadcast.

It's hard to get a good sense of this game without knowing who will be playing in it. If Greg Oden is a go, that makes all other storylines secondary. On that same front, Shawn Marion may or may not play, and even Brandon Roy is a maybe. I hope all play, and

Matchup of the night: LaMarcus Aldridge vs. Michael Beasley.

Aldridge is the kind of long, versatile power forward that should give Beasley a hard time. I think he'll hold his own. Beasley will be more than willing to bang with the larger Aldridge, and I don't see Aldridge doing much to slow Beasley's array of offensive moves. Plus, Beasley is a prime-time dude, so he'll be on point for the ESPN audience. Not that Beasley needs a breakout game, but this could be one.

Opposing player I'm scared of: Travis Outlaw.

He's a very difficult player to guard if his jumper's falling, and an absent or limited Marion could unleash him. Outlaw also craves any opportunity to be a top scoring option, and if Oden and/or Roy is out, that bumps him up the list.