Post by DiamondThief on Feb 6, 2015 18:56:39 GMT -8
Portland Trail Blazers at Dallas Mavericks
What: The Blazers make their first of two appearances in Big D to take on the Mavericks.
When: Saturday, Nov. 6 at 5:30 p.m. (pacific).
Blazers Media: TV - CSNNW; Radio - Rip City Radio 620 AM.
Mavericks Media: TV - FSSW; Radio - 103.3 ESPN.
Previous: Nov. 6 - Blazers 108-87.
Note: The Blazers have lost their last six road games, all against playoff teams. The Mavericks are 2-11 against the other seven teams in the top eight of the Western Conference entering today.
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The Blazers are 34-16, 12-11 on the road and 16-10 against Western Conference opponents. They are coming off a 108-87 home win over the Suns on Feb. 5. They are averaging 102.5 points (8th in the NBA) and giving up 97.2 points (5th). The Blazers are first in the Northwest Division and fourth in the conference. The Mavericks are 34-18, 15-8 on the road and 16-13 against Western Conference opponents. They are coming off a 101-78 road win over the Kings on Feb. 5. They are averaging 106.8 points (2nd) and giving up 101.1 points (18th). The Mavericks are third in the Pacific Division and fifth in the conference. Pictured below: Mavericks' Monta Ellis; Blazers' Damian Lillard and Robin Lopez.
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 88 Nicolas Batum
PF - 12 LaMarcus Aldridge
C - 42 Robin Lopez
SG - 2 Wesley Matthews
PG - 0 Damian Lillard
RESERVES
G - 5 Will Barton; 25 Steve Blake; 23 Allen Crabbe; 3 CJ McCollum
F - 18 Victor Claver; 41 Thomas Robinson; 1 Dorell Wright
C - 35 Chris Kaman; 11 Meyers Leonard
INJURIES
C - 19 Joel Freeland (shoulder) - out
C - 35 Chris Kaman (back) - questionable
HEAD COACH
Terry Stotts
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - LaMarcus Aldridge 23.7
Rebounds - LaMarcus Aldridge 10.3
Assists - Damian Lillard 6.3
Blocks - Robin Lopez 1.6
Steals - Damian Lillard 1.4
FG - Chris Kaman 48.3%
FT - LaMarcus Aldridge 87.1%
3pt - Wesley Matthews 39.9%
DALLAS MAVERICKS
PROJECTED STARTERS
SF - 25 Chandler Parsons
PF - 41 Dirk Nowitzki
C - 6 Tyson Chandler
SG - 11 Monta Ellis
PG - 5 J.J.Barea
RESERVES
G - 2 Raymond Felton; 20 Devin Harris; 1 Ricky Ledo
F - 7 Al-Farouq Aminu; 24 Richard Jefferson; 8 Dwight Powell; 3 Charlie Villanueva
C - 4 Greg Smith
INJURIES
G - 9 Rajon Rondo (head) - out
HEAD COACH
Rick Carlisle
STATISTICAL LEADERS
Points - Monta Ellis 20.4
Rebounds - Tyson Chandler 12.1
Assists - Monta Ellis 4.6
Blocks - Tyson Chandler 1.3
Steals - Monta Ellis 1.8
FG - Tyson Chandler 68.5%
FT - Dirk Nowitzki 89.3%
3pt - Chandler Parsons 37.7%
ANGI'S TAKE
The Blazers outscored the Mavericks 62-37 in the second half in the teams' first game en route to the blowout. The Blazers' LaMarcus Aldridge led all scorers in that one with 20 points. He is playing with a splint to protect the torn ligament in his left thumb and has had five straight double-doubles, and could have had another, finishing with 9 rebounds in the sixth game since returning from the injury. Batum nearly had a triple-double the first time out with 8 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists He had a game-high 20 points against the Suns. Lillard has made just two of his last 30 three-point attempts; this would be a great opportunity to break out of that slump. Matthews leads the NBA in three pointers, but will also be matched up against the Mavs' high scorer, Ellis. Lopez is back to form, dishing in 11 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks in the Blazers win over the Suns. McCollum, who scored 12 against the Suns, had 13 points in the first game against Dallas. The Mavericks used to be all about Nowitzki, but now Ellis is drives their bus. Though he only scored 14 in the first meeting, he paces the team in points, assists and steals. He will be up against one of the best defenders at the shooting guard position in Matthews. Nowitzki scored 17 in the first meeting, but that was on 6-17 shooting. Parsons is a quality small forward, but Blazers fans will always remember him as the player who desperately tried to run down the shot when Lillard eliminated Parsons' then-Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last season. The Mavericks have gone 3-1 in the last four games without Rondo, who was brought over in a trade earlier in the season. Barea started in his place against the Kings. Chandler is a tough defender and rebounder. Jefferson, Aminu and Harris are solid off the bench. Keys for the Blazers to win this one will be to win the rebounding battle and shoot at least 47.5 percent from the field. Matchup to watch: Wesley Matthews vs. Monta Ellis.
OFFICIALS
Bill Kennedy, Derrick Collins, Leroy Richardson.
QUOTABLE
Blazers' guard Wesley Matthews on the team's two-game Texas road trip: "Dallas has beaten us (in recent years), Houston has beaten us, so it's time for us to prove we're one of the elite teams and we have a chance to do that going into the All-Star break."
Mavericks' coach Rick Carlisle on the team's win over the Kings: "It's a game we had to get, because (Wednesday) night was really tough. But guys showed a lot of resilience. They were very together today in our meeting, and they really wanted to bounce back the right way. And they did."
FEATURED TWEETS
EXTRA I
One of our members, oregondoc, found this little guy in Las Vegas.
EXTRA II
Congratulations to LaMarcus Aldridge on this milestone.
MATCH UP MEME
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