The Trail Blazers (13-17) head home to the Moda Center tonight to face the Dallas Mavericks (7-21). With each passing game, the need for a W is becoming more and more desperate.
This is one of the few occasions where back to back games are a good thing. The quicker the Trail Blazers can move on from last night’s bizarre loss, the better. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is a winnable game. It has to be, right?
Bottom of the pile
The Mavs are tied (with Philadelphia) for the league’s worst record. Their fall from grace has been dramatic, having finished last season claiming the Western Conference’s sixth-seed. Whilst their year is (pragmatically at least) already over, they are showing signs of life. Over their first ten games of the season, Dallas were 2-8 (including a ten point loss to Portland). Over the past ten they’re 4-6, with victories over the Kings, Nuggets, Pacers and Bulls. All teams who have beaten the Trail Blazers already this season.
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The Mavs will be missing Andrew Bogut (knee) and likely also be without their talisman, Dirk Nowitzki, who has suffered with Achilles troubles all season. Ranking 29, 28 and 23 in pace, offensive rating and defensive rating, along with a net rating of -4.50, all suggest that Dallas are ripe for the taking. But Rick Carlisle’s abilities as a coach should never be underestimated. The good news is, this is something Terry Stotts (who was an assistant to Carlisle from 2008 to 2012) is well aware of.
The Return of Iron Man
The Rip City faithful will get to welcome former fan favorite, Wesley Matthews back tonight. The durable shooting guard became an essential part of the Trail Blazers during his tenure between 2010 and 2015. Having suffered a ruptured Achilles (somewhat ironically) against the Mavericks on March 5 2015, the loss of Matthews signaled the demise of the Portland’s strongest roster in recent memory.
Matthews seems to have fully recovered now though, with his averages across the board close to his career bests. If he gets rolling, the Mavericks could be dangerous. In their four recent wins, he’s dropped 26, 25, 25 and 15 respectively.
Getting the W
The Trail Blazers could well be without Al-Farouq Aminu (back) and Evan Turner (ankle) who’s timetables for return are still not known. (Editor’s note: Aminu’s status upgraded to probable) It’ll be surprising if Meyers Leonard starts again tonight, given that the Dallas front-court is far less imposing than the King’s DeMarcus Cousins. If he does, a greater level of production is needed from the 7-1 24-year-old. In a little over 19 minutes last night, Leonard racked up 5 fouls alongside just two assists and two rebounds. But let’s face it, that appeared to be his game plan for the night.
The rest of the starting five produced well. Mason Plumlee put in effort that fans dream he could maintain. Damian Lillard distributed like a floor general should. C.J. McCollum, despite struggling from three, hit .591% of his field goals on route to 36 points. And Maurice Harkless earned a double-double.
Whilst this shows a glimmer of how good this core could be, once again, the vast majority is on the offensive end. The league knows the Trail Blazers can score and this should be sufficient against Dallas. But seriously, something needs to be done about the defense. With San Antonio (twice) and Toronto visiting before the month is out, there could be little to celebrate in Rip City on New Year’s Eve.
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