NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs. Portland Trail Blazers Preview, Odds, Head to Head

The Dallas Mavericks are on their way to the Moda Center, where they meet the Portland Trail Blazers. This is a battle between two superstar guards, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard, arguably two of the best scorers in their position. For the moment, the Mavericks are fourth in the Western Conference, while Trail Blazers struggle to keep themselves in contention for the playoffs or at least try to reach the play-in tournament.  

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (24-19, +100) defeated the Lakers in LA in the most recent clash. That was the first and the only win on the three-game road trip the Mavs had. After losing to the Thunder in OKC, and the Clippers in LA the night before the clash with the Lakers, Jason Kidds’ crew managed to bag a W in the City of Angels. 

Dallas was better, 119-115, and the hero of the event was Luka, who made two clutch threes in the late part of the event. The Slovenian had 35 points in front of the purple and gold fans, adding 14 boards and 13 assists for another triple-double. 

The Mavs shot 50% from the field, and dealt with a pretty controversial officiating at certain moments. Besides Luka, Christian Wood presented himself to the LA audience with a bright display, 24 points and 14 boards, while Tim Hardaway Jr had 22 buckets. Overall, the Mavs’ bench scored just 14 points, and that’s a problem they need to solve very soon.

As for the Portland Trail Blazers (19-22, -110), this is the last moment for snapping out of the crisis. Chauncey Billups is under pressure and his position in the RIP City is on thin ice. The Blazers have five losses in a row, and that’s happening at the worst possible time of the year. 

Following three defeats on the road in Minneapolis, Indianapolis, and Toronto, Trail Blazers absorbed back-to-back failures at home. The first was against the Orlando Magic, 109-106, and the second to the Cleveland Cavaliers, 119-113. Cavs have shifted into the higher gear in the final period, outscoring the rivals 32-22, which decided this meeting.

Lillard had 50 points, yet even that wasn’t enough for his team to snap a cold streak. Jerami Grant added 22, but he had only one board and assist, which is unacceptable, while Jusuf Nurkic added another double-double to his account, having 12 buckets and boards each. Anfernee Simons’s usage dropped severely, and he had only 15 points. 

Head to Head Games

There have been two head-to-head games before this clash. In both, the Mavs ended up on the winning side, but we need to say that those events took place in Texas, at the American Airlines Center. The first game was 117-112, and the second ended more comfortably for Dallas, 130-110.

Prediction

We need to go with under here, because Portland went under in eight of the past ten games. On the other side, Dallas was under in four of the recent six contests, and overall, we believe that this game won’t see 230 points which is a limit right now. Luka plays iso on the road way too much, and that decreases the number of points in Dallas’ events. 

Pick: Under 230 points -110