NBA: Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Dallas Mavericks head for Portland to challenge the Trail Blazers, which promises a highly interesting matchup. These two sides aren’t particularly keen on playing defense, especially in the situation once they meet equally offensive-minded opponents, which would be the case here. This is also going to be a clash between two guard superstars, Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard. These guys have been displaying fantastic performances lately, and we expect to see the same in this case as well. On top of everything, the Mavs and the Trail Blazers are direct rivals in the West standings, with the difference between them being awfully close. By the way, this is going to be the first of two consecutive matches at Moda Center between these teams.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (21-18, -175) come to Oregon following back-to-back matches against the Los Angeles Clippers. Luka and the crew had mixed success in these two events, posting a loss and then a 105-89 victory.

Doncic was magnificent in the latter contest, dropping 42 points on the title-contenders and one of the best defensive backcourts in the league. The former Rookie of the Year was 16-for-28 from the field, hitting six threes as well. Apart from scoring, Doncic assisted nine times and secured six rebounds.

Kristaps Porzingis wasn’t in the mood for dropping baskets, but he posted a solid double-double with 11 points and 13 boards, doing a lot of the dirty work. The Mavs limited LAC to just nine threes in 32 attempts, which is fascinating once you have the best three-point shooting team in the NBA across the court.

Portland Trail Blazers (24-16, +145) also had back-to-back games, only with the New Orleans Pelicans, winning both of them. The first finished 125-124, following a dramatic ending, which saw Lillard earning a triumph (as usual), and the second 101-93.

Dame scored 36 in Thursday’s event, with six boards and threes. He’s been unreal over the past 10 games, with 31.6 points, 8.2 assists, and 4.5 boards in each. Against the Pels, Portland’s leader had solid assistance in Enes Kanter, whose 16 points and 13 boards restrained the guests’ dominant and physical frontcourt.

The Blazers are 6-2 in the past 8 matches, with the note that they have three more evens at home. After that comes a tour through the East and a much less favorable schedule.

Head to Head Games

Blazers and Mavs met once in Dallas on February 14. The guests narrowly won, 121-118, with them withstanding Dallas’ heavy pressure in the ultimate few minutes. Lillard had 34 points and 11 assists; Melo and Robert Covington added 15 each. Gary Trent Jr scored 17. Luka was fantastic for the Mavs with 44 buckets, nine assists, and seven boards.

Prediction

As said, these teams are reckless when it comes to defending the basket, which is why our pick for tonight’s match will be Over 234, which is the line at the moment. Even though we noticed a bit of a slowdown in the past few events these teams had recently, once such two offensive-minded mentalities clash, it would be unwise to go with any other recommendation. The match could go either way when it comes to the winner, and you really should avoid staking money on that.

Pick: Over 234 points