The Portland Trail Blazers are off to a rocky start this season as they begin their post-Damian Lillard rebuild.
As such, the Blazers don't feature heavily in the NBA's national TV schedule. The team has played a handful of times on NBA TV and is scheduled just once on ESPN and once on TNT.
Except the NBA has now removed the Blazers vs. Miami Heat matchup from the Feb. 27 TNT broadcast, per Ira Winderman of The Miami Sun-Sentinel:
“The NBA has removed Miami at Portland from the national television schedule. Apparently the absence of Damian Lillard for either team played into the decision.”
The move makes sense considering that, after widely being expected to be traded from the Blazers to the Heat, Lillard ended up with the Milwaukee Bucks. Once Lillard is removed from the equation, all that would be left is a rebuilding Blazers team near the bottom of the standings taking on Miami.
Of course, that doesn't mean that the league won't get eyeballs on Lillard's return to Portland. The Bucks are set to take on the Blazers at Moda Center on Jan. 31. That game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Expect Lillard to get a rousing ovation. The Bucks point guard thrilled Blazers fans for 11 years with countless dazzling moments, including a playoff series-ending buzzer beater against the Houston Rockets, another series-ender against the Oklahoma City Thunder, multiple 60+ point performances, and a 71-point outburst last season.
While there is a little bit of bad blood between the two fanbases, the Heat vs. Blazers game will only be broadcast on local television.
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