Game Thread GAME# 51: MAVERICKS @ BLAZERS - FEBRUARY 3, 2017 - FRIDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), KGW & ESPN

[Darkwebs]

2016-17 REGULAR SEASON RECORD
DALLAS MAVERICKS
19 - 30
(7-18 Road)
PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS
22 - 28
(14-10 Home)


______________________________
---------PROBABLE STARTERS---------

PG

YOGI FERRELL VS DAMIAN LILLARD

SG

SETH CURRY VS C.J. McCOLLUM

SF

WESLEY MATTHEWS VS EVAN TURNER

PF

HARRISON BARNES VS NOAH VONLEH

C

DIRK NOWITZKI VS MASON PLUMLEE

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WHEN: 7:30 PM (PST), FRIDAY, 2/3/2017​

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

AND

RADIO BROADCAST:

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--------------BENCH--------------

DALLAS MAVERICKS

HARRIS , ANDERSON , BRUSSINO

FINNEY-SMITH , POWELL

HAMMONS , MEJRI

---- PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS ----

NAPIER , CONNAUGHTON

CRABBE , HARKLESS

]

AMINU , LEONARD , DAVIS


INJURIES
MAVERICKS
Deron Williams (left great toe sprain): DOUBTFUL
Andrew Bogut (right hamstring strain): OUT
Jose Juan Barea (left calf strain): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
Ed Davis (wrist): PROBABLE
Festus Ezeli (left knee): OUT



HEAD COACHES

- VS –

RICK CARLISLE --- TERRY STOTTS



MAVERICKS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES
BLAZERS' OFFICIAL GAME NOTES ​

• Friday marks the third of four regular season matchups between the Trail Blazers and Mavericks in 2016-17.

• LAST MEETING: Dallas defeated Portland, 96-95, at the Moda Center on Dec. 21. The Mavericks led by as many as 25 points in the third quarter before Portland outscored Dallas by 23 points in the second half.

• Portland has not won a regular season series against Dallas since 2009-10, when it won three of four games vs. the Mavericks (1-1 this season). Dallas has won four season series during that time (two ties).

• The Mavericks have won five of their last nine games against the Trail Blazers in Portland (1-0 this season), and are 4-2 overall in their last six games against Portland.

• Damian Lillard scored 24 of his 29 points in the second half in that Dec. 21 game, and has now scored at least 20 points in each of his last fi ve games against the Mavericks (29.8 ppg).

• Damian Lillard’s 42 points against Dallas earlier this season on Nov. 11 represents his highest scoring total in 16 career games against the Mavericks. It was also just the second time that he has scored 30 or more points vs. Dal.

• Mason Plumlee has scored in double figures in each of his last four games against Dallas (13.3 ppg), including both of his games this season (14.5 ppg).

• Allen Crabbe has averaged 13.2 points over his past five games against the Mavericks. Crabbe’s average of 16.0 ppg in three games vs. Dallas last season was his highest scoring total against any Western Conference opponent.

• CONNECTION: Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts helped lead Dallas to the 2011 NBA Championship in one of his four years as a Mavericks assistant coach from 2008-12.

• CONNECTION: Dallas guard/forward Wesley Matthews ranks second on Portland’s all-time 3-point list (826). He averaged 15.4 points on 43.8% shooting in fi ve seasons with the Trail Blazers from 2010-15.

• CONNECTION: Portland center Festus Ezeli was teammates with Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut for four seasons from 2012-16. All three players joined the Warriors prior to the start of the 2012-13 season.

• CONNECTION: Festus Ezeli (30th overall) and Harrison Barnes (7th overall) were both first round draft selections by Golden State in the 2012 NBA Draft.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 79-69
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 50-23
AT THE MAVERICKS: Mavericks lead, 46-29

​

 

[Darkwebs]

Up to date standings in the West:

We are back in 8th!

 

[BigGameDamian]

Freezing rain/snow tonight?

 

[KingSpeed]

Big game for Dallas if they have playoff aspirations. Big game for us if we have 7th seed aspirations plus needing to keep Dallas at bay for 8th.

 

[KingSpeed]

Freezing rain/snow tonight?

Are the Mavericks already in Portland?

 

[trailblazer18]

Both teams are playing much better recently. This won't be an easy game for us, even with us playing much improved.

So random that Yogi can come in and just start for the Mavs and have a major impact right away.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Are the Mavericks already in Portland?

Should be.

 

[Boob-No-More]

DAL has won 5 of 6 and their lone loss was on the second night of a home-away back-to-back at OKC when Wes and Dirk didn't travel with the team.

Seth Curry has been playing really well lately, including 24 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists in their recent road win over SAS.

BNM

 

[BlazerBeav]

How the hell did we lose to this team?! I was in the Moda that night and I still have to ask that. What a junk lineup that is!

 

[Pinwheel1]

How the hell did we lose to this team?! I was in the Moda that night and I still have to ask that. What a junk lineup that is!

Yeah I was wondering the same thing about Cleveland and SA. And the Spurs lost to them at home!

 

[e_blazer]

“We’re A Shit Team, But We’re An Underrated Shit Team” — Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle

 

[Boob-No-More]

How the hell did we lose to this team?! I was in the Moda that night and I still have to ask that. What a junk lineup that is!

They've been going with a small ball staring line up recently with Wes at the 3, Harrison Fucking Barnes at the 4 and Dirk at the 5 and it's working. They are still last in the league in scoring, but their scoring has been way up since they went with the small ball line up. Their defense has also improved. They haven't just been winning, they've been beating some very good teams.

It should be an interesting game. We should have the advantage at the guard spots, but the match up I find most intriguing is the Vonleh vs. Barnes. I don't think Noah has the speed to keep up with Barnes, but Barnes also lacks the size and strength to defend Noah down low. If I was Stotts, I'd test that match up early. With no rim protector playing behind him, Barnes will be on an island trying to guard the bigger, stronger Vonleh. Try it early, see how it works and try to pick up a couple quick fouls on Barnes.

And with no shot blockers in the game, Dame and C.J. should be attacking the rim as often as possible and not just settling for contested 3-pointers. Although Wes is listed as their starting SF, I expect to see him guarding Dame quite a bit and possibly on C.J. at times. Wes' biggest strength is keeping his shoulders in front of players trying to penetrate. With no rim protection, he'll need to do that, which is why I expect to see him on Dame a fair bit.

BNM

 

[trailblazer18]

They've been going with a small ball staring line up recently with Wes at the 3, Harrison Fucking Barnes at the 4 and Dirk at the 5 and it's working. They are still last in the league in scoring, but their scoring has been way up since they went with the small ball line up. Their defense has also improved. They haven't just been winning, they've been beating some very good teams.

It should be an interesting game. We should have the advantage at the guard spots, but the match up I find most intriguing is the Vonleh vs. Barnes. I don't think Noah has the speed to keep up with Barnes, but Barnes also lacks the size and strength to defend Noah down low. If I was Stotts, I'd test that match up early. With no rim protector playing behind him, Barnes will be on an island trying to guard the bigger, stronger Vonleh. Try it early, see how it works and try to pick up a couple quick fouls on Barnes.

And with no shot blockers in the game, Dame and C.J. should be attacking the rim as often as possible and not just settling for contested 3-pointers. Although Wes is listed as their starting SF, I expect to see him guarding Dame quite a bit and possibly on C.J. at times. Wes' biggest strength is keeping his shoulders in front of players trying to penetrate. With no rim protection, he'll need to do that, which is why I expect to see him on Dame a fair bit.

BNM

The big Tunisian guy had a huge game their last game against the 76ers. If he is that effective again, they will have some size and rim protection. Not sure what got into him last game, but he put up a nice line.

 

[Boob-No-More]

The big Tunisian guy had a huge game their last game against the 76ers. If he is that effective again, they will have some size and rim protection. Not sure what got into him last game, but he put up a nice line.

Yeah, I checked his game log and he's more likely to post all donuts than he is to ever repeat that performance. In the two games before that, he played a total of 9 minutes with 0 points, 0 rebounds, 0 BLKs and 1 PF. That's his only double digit scoring game all season and the only time he's scored more than 4 points in a game since before Christmas.

His BLK% of 5.8 is very good, but because he plays so few minutes he averages less than 1 BLK/g.

BNM

 

[trailblazer18]

A side note on Mejri, the Mavs found him on Youtube! He also had an on court verbal incident with a Rockets player earlier this season for crossing trash talk boundaries and his teammates had to sit him down to let him know what is acceptable..haha

 

[Boob-No-More]

A side note on Mejri, the Mavs found him on Youtube! He also had an on court verbal incident with a Rockets player earlier this season for crossing trash talk boundaries and his teammates had to sit him down to let him know what is acceptable..haha

He's raw as fuck, but also big as fuck. He's OK standing under the basket with his arms up, but not quick enough to effectively guard the pick and roll. If they do play him, we need our center setting high screens to draw him out from under the rim. That plus Plumlee passing out of the high post should render him pretty useless on defense. There are reasons he plays so little, even with Bogut out.

BNM

 

[trailblazer18]

So apparently the gist of the situation/conversation was as follows:

Ariza thought Mejri said something to him

Ariza: "Did you just say my momma's a b*tch?"

Mejri: "No, but if you say your mom a b*tch, then she a b*tch."

Funny stuff!

 

[BBert]

A side note on Mejri, the Mavs found him on Youtube! He also had an on court verbal incident with a Rockets player earlier this season for crossing trash talk boundaries and his teammates had to sit him down to let him know what is acceptable..haha

There are trash talk boundaries??

 

[BBert]

So apparently the gist of the situation/conversation was as follows:

Ariza thought Mejri said something to him

Ariza: "Did you just say my momma's a b*tch?"

Mejri: "No, but if you say your mom a b*tch, then she a b*tch."

Funny stuff!

Should have just said his mama tastes like honey nut cheerios.

 

[trailblazer18]

There are trash talk boundaries??

Didn't Melo get in a big tissy because Garnett said Lala tastes like honey nut cheerios or something?

 

[illmatic99]

There are trash talk boundaries??

 

[Boob-No-More]

Evidently, orange has a slimming effect.

BNM

 

[illmatic99]

Up to date standings in the West:

We are back in 8th!

Setting ourselves up perfectly to get throttled in the first round. ugh.

Rooting for OKC to drop like a rock so we claw our way up to 7. I think we can at least get a game against SA.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Setting ourselves up perfectly to get throttled in the first round. ugh.

Rooting for OKC to drop like a rock so we claw our way up to 7. I think we can at least get a game against SA.

With Kanter out, OKC is struggling to score. They've lost three in a row, by an average margin of 19.3 points. If we take care of business tonight and on Sunday, we could end the weekend only 4 games behind them.

We're currently 9 games behind LAC, but with Chris Paul out and a ridiculously hard schedule between now and March 1 (9 of 10 games against playoff teams and the only one that isn't is in rhe middle fo a 5-game road trip). We may too far back to catch them, but you never know.

BNM

 

[DaLincolnJones]

The best part of this game is being able to watch without hearing our new announcers

 

[BBert]

Didn't Melo get in a big tissy because Garnett said Lala tastes like honey nut cheerios or something?

Yes. Classic.

 

[KingSpeed]

With Kanter out, OKC is struggling to score. They've lost three in a row, by an average margin of 19.3 points. If we take care of business tonight and on Sunday, we could end the weekend only 4 games behind them.

We're currently 9 games behind LAC, but with Chris Paul out and a ridiculously hard schedule between now and March 1 (9 of 10 games against playoff teams and the only one that isn't is in rhe middle fo a 5-game road trip). We may too far back to catch them, but you never know.

BNM

We climbed from 9th to 5th last year. 6th is totally doable.

 

[illmatic99]

Evidently, orange has a slimming effect.

BNM

Never underestimate the impact of voodoo donuts

 

[blue9]

... the match up I find most intriguing is the Vonleh vs. Barnes.

I can't believe I'm saying this, but this is one time where I'd start Aminu. Don't let him touch the ball on offense, but I do think Barnes is the sort of player that Aminu could excel against defensively.

 

[riverman]

Should be a fun game! My answer to the poll is Wheels! That voodoo that you do so well!