Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
Wednesday, 12/15/10, 9:30 PM EDT, TV: ESPN
Opening Point Spread: Dallas -7
Current Betting Line: Dallas -7
Opening Total: 188
Current Total: 185
Portland’s offense has flown south for the winter in the past two games, managing to score just 78 and 73 points against San Antonio and Memphis respectively. “The starting five, those guys are gassed,” said coach Nate McMillan. “They have played some heavy minutes. We need the bench to give us a breather.” The reserves were ineffective for a third straight game on this road trip versus the Grizzlies last time out, combining for 15 points on 5-of-16 shooting. All the blame can’t be squarely placed on the bench, as All-Star guard Brandon Roy has been bothered by a left knee injury, causing him to shoot 31.9 percent from the floor in his last six games. Portland is 11-11 ATS on the year and 0-4 ATS versus Southwest Division opponents. The team is currently a seven-point underdog on the NBA lines page.
The Blazers captured last season’s series, 3-1, marking their first series win against Dallas since the 1998-99 season. Last year, Portland won twice in Dallas for the first time since the aforementioned season, as the Mavericks had captured 18 of the previous games against the Trail Blazers before last season. In the four meetings last year, the Trail Blazers limited the Mavericks to just 41.4 percent shooting from the floor, while hitting at a 45.3 percent clip themselves. The offensive unit is managing to score just 91.9 points on the road this season.
Dallas suffered a disappointing 103-99 defeat to Milwaukee on Sunday in a game that snapped its 12-game winning streak. The Mavericks assumed a comfortable 20-point second-quarter lead before dropping their first game since November 19. “This kind of slippage we’ve seen all too often,” coach Rick Carlisle stated. “I’ve got to coach harder, the players have got to be more conscientious.” The squad is 19-5 overall on the season and posted a 11-4 home record, including a 5-2 mark versus Western Conference opponents. Before dropping two games in the series at home versus Portland last year, the squad had won 11 consecutive games over tonight’s opponent at the American Airlines Center. Dallas is 5-1 ATS versus Northwest Division teams.
The Mavericks used their 12-game winning streak to help propel themselves to their best start since the 2002-03 season (21-3). All-Star forward Dirk Nowitzki has been leading the offensive attack on a nightly basis, shooting 56.4 percent from the field this season. The highest percentage he’s ever shot in a season was 50.2 percent in 2006-07. He has been named the Western Conference Player of the Week in two of the last three weeks. Some NBA experts have been questioning if this squad is the NBA’s best thus far in 2010-11. “That’s not even on our mind,” said guard Jason Terry. “That’s so far from where we’re trying to go right now.”
Bettors will be interested in knowing that the Blazers are 0-5-1 ATS versus the Southwest Division, while the Mavericks are 20-8-2 ATS against the Western Conference.
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