PORTLAND, OREGON — It’s round 3 of the Mavericks vs Blazers regular season series and the Trailblazers have stolen one win on the road and another one in their home building. No matter which way the pendulum swings tonight the Mavericks will lose the series to the Blazers. Despite the inevitable, if Dallas can steal a win tonight at the Moda Center it will be momentum gained since they will play their next 7 out of 8 games on the road….again.
Road victories have been the buffer to some extent to keep the Mavericks above water record wise. The Mavericks are 10-10 this season on the road, but 5-6 against western conference teams. Simple math says that if Dallas loses one or two games on the road earlier this season Dallas would be the 9th or 10th seed presently in the playoff race. Road victories have been their saving grace.
All games at this point in the season have meaning and fumbling the bag on the road can either propel the team or start a snowball effect.This game is also important because of what’s at stake. If Dallas loses tonight they will be in the 9th overall spot in the playoff race.
In their loss on Friday night the Mavericks played unbalanced. The offense was efficient but their defensive efforts were inconsistent. Dallas had three quarters where they shot 60% from the field, but didn’t shoot well in the quarter that counted the most which allowed the Blazers, who have a track record of coming back into games, to creep back in to take the lead in the late minutes of the fourth quarter.
How the Blazers did it was remarkable in itself, hitting three point shots at an exceptionally high clip and had their marquee players Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum go for 30+ points respectively. Dallas outperformed Portland statistically from the field shooting 54% for the entire game which typically translates into wins, but the two Portland stars couldn’t be denied.
Something that should help the Mavericks tonight is the news of Dorian Finney-Smith returning to the lineup after missing Friday’s game due to the birth of his son (congratulations). Finney-Smith doesn’t have the gaudy like numbers on the offensive end but he makes up for it on the defensive end. Another player who missed Friday’s game is Willie Cauley-Stein who is out until he clears Covid-19 protocol, which altered the way the Mavericks would approach such a potent offense like the Trailblazers and their overall rotation.
The NBA season from March to May is a big battle of King of the Hill. Losing tonight will kick the Mavericks further down the hill and a win tonight will help them maintain their position.
