Dallas Mavericks at Portland Trail Blazers
Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon
Sunday, April 3, 2011, 9:05 pm Eastern, TV: NBA TV
Opening Line: Blazers -3 1/2
Current Line: Blazers -4 1/2
Opening Total: 189
Current Total: 188
Money Line: Blazers -200 / Mavericks +170
Based on the current NBA standings, these two teams would match-up in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Though things could change. Dallas still has an outside shot at the number 1 or 2 seed in the West but most likely will remain the three seed. Portland is currently seeded sixth but could be seeded anywhere from 5th to 8th by the end of the season. Only 3 1/2 games separates 5th seed Denver from 8th seed New Orleans, so lots of shuffling could occur. Dallas is 53-23 on the season 4 1/2 games behind the Spurs in both the Southwest division and Western Conference. They are 2 1/2 behind the red hot Lakers for second and 3 games ahead of Oklahoma City for the third seed. The Mavericks lost at Golden St Saturday night 99-92. They have lost 2 in a row after a 5 game winning streak. This is the last game for Mavericks on a season long six game road trip. They have gone 3-2 on the trip. Portland is 44-32 on the year. They have won 8 straight home games including a 98-91 victory over Oklahoma City on Friday night.
Dallas has won 2 of 3 this year against Portland. The Blazers won March 15 in Portland 104-101, behind 30 points from LaMarcus Aldridge. The Mavericks won the previous 2 games in Dallas, 103-98 December 15 and January 4 84-81. Dirk Nowitzki missed the second game with an injury. Dallas has gone 6-4 straight up in the last 10 meetings, but the two teams are 5-5 against the spread. Five of those ten have gone over as well. The Mavericks are 24-15 ATS in road games this season, including 15-5 ATS versus teams with winning records. Dallas is 27-12 straight up on the road and Portland is 27-10 straight up at home.
Forward Caron Butler (knee) and guard Dominique Jones (foot) are both out indefinitely. Butler averages 15 points a game. Center Tyson Chandler (back) and point guard Jason Kidd (knee) were both injured against the Warriors last night, but both are listed as probable for this game. The Mavericks are led by future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki. Dirk averages 23.1 points and 7 rebounds a game. Three other Mavericks besides Butler score in double figures. Jason terry averages 16.1 points a game. Shawn Marion averages 12.1 points a game. Chandler averages 10.2 points. He also leads the team in rebounds with 9.3 a game and blocks with 1.1 a game. Kidd leads the Mavericks in assists with 8.3 a game and steals with 1.6 a game. The Mavs are outscoring opponents 100-96 this season. Dallas shoots 47.3% from the field and 36.6% from 3-point range. Maverick opponents are shooting 45% from the field. Dallas makes 77.9% of their free throws. The Mavericks average 41.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of +0.4. The mavericks average 23.8 assists and 13.8 turnovers a game. They lead the league in assists per game. Dallas forces 13.4 turnovers a game on defense. The Mavs average 6.7 steals and 4.3 blocks a game.
Portland has no significant injuries right now. The Blazers have 6 players averaging double figure scoring, led by power forward Aldridge with 22.1 points a game. He also averages 8.6 rebounds. Guard Wesley Matthews averages 15.8 points. Gerald Wallace averages 15.2 points and leads the team in steals with 2 a game. Andre miller averages 13 points and leads the team in assists with 7.1 a game. Brandon Roy missed significant time with a knee injury this season and is trying to get back to his all-star form. He is averaging 12.9 points a game. Nicholas Batum averages 12.1 points a game. Marcus Camby leads the team in rebounds with 10.4 a game and blocks with 1.6 a game. The Blazers are outscoring opponents 96-95 on the season. Portland is shooting 44.8% from the field and 34.4% from 3-point range. Blazer opponents are shooting 46.8% from the field. The Blazers make 80% of their free throws. They average 39.3 rebounds a game and have a rebounding margin of -0.1. They average 21.1 assists and 13.1 turnovers a game. Portland forces 15.9 turnovers a game on defense. The Blazers force 8.1 steals and 4.4 blocks a game.
Portland is almost assured of a playoff spot as they are 3 1/2 games ahead of 9th place Houston with only 6 to play. Whether they play the Spurs, Lakers, Mavericks, or Thunder in the first round is yet to be determined. However, the elite teams in the west should not overlook this Blazer team. They have the talent to play with any of those four teams. I don’t know if they can beat the top three teams but they can certainly scare them by stretching them to 6 or maybe even 7 games.
Our pro basketball handicappers are red hot this season. Don’t miss out on any more winners from now until the Finals in June.
