Game Thread GAME# 60: MAVERICKS @ BLAZERS - MARCH 5, 2015 - THURSDAY, 7:30 PM (PST), TNT (1 Viewer)

[Darkwebs]

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________PROBABLE STARTERS________


______DALLAS MAVERICKS______

RAJON RONDO (PG) , MONTA ELLIS (SG)

RICHARD JEFFERSON (SF) , DIRK NOWITZKI (PF)

TYSON CHANDLER (C)




___PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS___

DAMIAN LILLARD (PG) , WESLEY MATTHEWS (SG)
THE RAINBROZ

NICOLAS BATUM (SF) , LAMARCUS ALDRIDGE (PF)

ROBIN LOPEZ (C)







WHEN: 7:30 PM (PACIFIC), THURSDAY, 3/5/2015​

WHERE: Moda Center, Portland, OR

TV BROADCAST:

RADIO BROADCAST:

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BENCH
DALLAS MAVERICKS

BAREA , FELTON , HARRIS , AMINU

VILLANUEVA , STOUDEMIRE , JAMES , SMITH

PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS

BLAKE , MCCOLLUM , AFFLALO , GEE

WRIGHT , FREELAND , LEONARD , KAMAN



INJURIES
MAVERICKS
Tyson Chandler (left hip injury): PROBABLE
Chandler Parsons (left ankle injury): OUT
TRAIL BLAZERS
NONE




HEAD COACHES

- VS –

RICK CARLISLE--- TERRY STOTTS




OFFICIAL BLAZERS GAME NOTES ​

• Thursday marks the third of four matchups between the Trail Blazers and Mavericks in 2014-15.

• Both teams are even with one win apiece in the season series, as the Trail Blazers defeated Dallas 108-87 on Nov. 6 in Portland, and the Mavericks defeated Portland 111-101 (OT) on Feb. 7 in Dallas.

• In the last game between these two teams on Feb. 7, Dallas closed the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run over the fi nal 2:50 to force overtime (W, 111-101).

• In that fourth quarter, Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting (1-2 3-PT).

• LaMarcus Aldridge is averaging 22.5 points on 21-of-38 shooting (55.2%) in two games against Dallas this season. Aldridge has also grabbed 10.5 rebounds per contest.

• Damian Lillard has logged double-digit scoring in each of his nine career games against Dallas (20+ points twice).

• CJ McCollum is averaging 11.0 points per game off the bench this season in two games against Dallas. McCollum has made five of his eight shots from beyond the arc.

• Dirk Nowitzki’s 25-point performance against Portland on Feb. 7 was the 19th time in his career against Portland that he has logged at least 25 points.

• HEAD-TO-HEAD HISTORY:
ALL TIME: Trail Blazers lead, 76-65
IN PORTLAND: Trail Blazers lead, 48-21
IN DALLAS: Mavericks lead 44-28

OFFICIAL MAVERICKS GAME NOTES




GO BLAZERS!!!​

 

[Darkwebs]

Reserved

 

[magnifier661]

Revenge game is in on the horizon. We let the last slip away.

 

[Kontrarian]

Payback time!

 

[Strenuus]

I'll be at work, but glued to the game tracker for this one.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

We need to move the ball a lot better than we did tonight to win this game.

 

[EGame]

Retribution for that lame ass game last time against them. The Blazers cannot switch on Dirk if we do it'll be a long night.

 

[illmatic99]

Jeez. 10:30 start again.

And no LP again.

sigh

 

[SheedSoNasty]

Is Freeland playing?

 

[kjironman1]

A number of weeks ago lots of us were calling for Nic Batum's head on a platter. I know i said many times to shut him down. But we all knew Nic could be the key to winning this year. Yesterday answered that question. that was one of what i am sure will be a few games where we say "Nic took over and won that game for the Blazers" Glad to see it.

I am looking for the Blazers shooting touch to come back tonight. Not sure what happens when they have to many days off but they have consistently come in cold after more than 2 days off. 1-13 for Lillard won't happen again any time soon. Bet on it. You have got to give him credit for working hard enough through a slump like that to pull 18 rebounds. Blazers have played well this year on B2B's for the most part. Lets hope the trend continues.

Rondo Rondo Rondo....Anybody in Blazerland still think this guy would be a good addition? The Mavs defense has improved a little bit but offensively they have become a mess. The thing is they are good enough to work this out and when they do this team could very well be in the WCF. Right now the Mavs are dealing with a number of nagging type injuries but other than Parsons they are playing through them. Again having Portland at full strength is going to be a test.

The one thing you watched last night was Portland win the battle of the boards both offensively and defensively. Dallas does not rebound great so this is the type of game Portland could get some second chance points. The Blazers should win Points in the paint tonight if they are playing the type of game that they need to win. Pound this team on the inside and do not get into a jump shooting contest with them. On lots of nights Portland can shoot with the best but they simply don't have to tonight. Take what teams will give you and don't rely on the 3 ball when shots are not falling.

Weird rotation last night? Didn't even see Freeland and Leonard only played 2 mins. Stotts put wright in for a short stretch but rode terrible shooting nights from Lillard , Wes and AAA. In the end he got the win but lets hope they don't have to win that way too many more times. Tonight Wes will have to contain Ellis who seems to be the main scoring threat although Nowitzki was the killer in the OT game in Dallas last month.

The Battle i'm watching tonight will be Rolo vs Tyson Chandler. He who dominates that war will give his team the edge.

Pick tonight is Lillard. Yeah he will come back strong tonight....Enough said.

I will be at the game with my nephew so all you chat people need to hold the fort down.

Go Blazers!

kjironman is a fan!!!

 

[julius]

Jeez. 10:30 start again.

And no LP again.

sigh

Do you have TNT?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Do you have TNT?

I have a wife who dominates the DVR on Thursday nights. Le sigh...

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Retribution for that lame ass game last time against them. The Blazers cannot switch on Dirk if we do it'll be a long night.

BTW, I feel like last night's game is the counter-balance to that Dallas game. Winning games we deserved to lose offsets losing games we deserved to win.

#fanlogic

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I have a wife who dominates the DVR on Thursday nights. Le sigh...

Grab le nuts and tell her... That you love her because Lord knows if you demand to watch basketball you're not getting anything for a week.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Grab le nuts and tell her... That you love her because Lord knows if you demand to watch basketball you're not getting anything for a week.

Dude--I've been married for 16 years. Not getting anything for a week is expected.

 

[julius]

I have a wife who dominates the DVR on Thursday nights. Le sigh...

Ooh, buy the extra joey!

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Ooh, buy the extra joey!

We really do need to upgrade to a "HOPPAH!"

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Dude--I've been married for 16 years. Not getting anything for a week is expected.

So, this is what I have to look forward too... Im gonna have to invest in Marrying one of those submissive freaks lol

 

[magnifier661]

I think Stotts is really falling in love with the small ball line up of Aldridge, Batum, Afflalo, Matthews and Dame. I like it too!

 

[magnifier661]

Dude--I've been married for 16 years. Not getting anything for a week is expected.

Ouch!!!!

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

I think Stotts is really falling in love with the small ball line up of Aldridge, Batum, Afflalo, Matthews and Dame. I like it too!

It works so well because it forces LA to take shots from no further than 12 feet. I just don't understand why we don't run our offense like that all the time... When the double comes deep in the post LA could hit an open man and then they could swing the ball and get the best shot possible. Kinda like the Spurs in last years playoffs. We run way too many plays were LA sets a rub off screen and looks for a contested 18 footer or Dame has to create with everyone running around trying to shake their defender.

 

[illmatic99]

Do you have TNT?

No cable. I use LP broadband.

But I have links, so it's not too bad. Just annoying

 

[magnifier661]

No cable. I use LP broadband.

But I have links, so it's not too bad. Just annoying

I can give you my tnt log in information if you want

 

[illmatic99]

I can give you my tnt log in information if you want

Thanks for the offer, but I'm good.

 

[BBert]

Time for Afflalo to have a decent offensive game.

 

[Kaydow]

It works so well because it forces LA to take shots from no further than 12 feet. I just don't understand why we don't run our offense like that all the time... When the double comes deep in the post LA could hit an open man and then they could swing the ball and get the best shot possible. Kinda like the Spurs in last years playoffs. We run way too many plays were LA sets a rub off screen and looks for a contested 18 footer or Dame has to create with everyone running around trying to shake their defender.

Nailed it. Batum is the wild card here. Teams are consistently trapping Dame, forcing him to pass. It's been difficult at times to initiate any offense once he throws it out on the perimeter. Wes is a great catch and shoot guy, but not a playmaker. Nic is really the only other option (maybe AA situationally). You can live with a few careless t/o's when he's creating offense like he did last night. We need to be more dynamic offensively to make noise in the playoffs. LA shooting fadeaways from 18' and Dame forcing contested shots isn't going to get it done. But if Nic truly has turned the corner it, it adds another dimension. When he's "right" he can score on pull-ups or off the dribble, and he can create offense for others. Watching him and LA in pick & roll last night was a thing of beauty. We don't need that from him every night, just enough to keep defenses from throwing the kitchen sink at Dame & daring somebody else on the perimeter to make a play.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

Nailed it. Batum is the wild card here. Teams are consistently trapping Dame, forcing him to pass. It's been difficult at times to initiate any offense once he throws it out on the perimeter. Wes is a great catch and shoot guy, but not a playmaker. Nic is really the only other option (maybe AA situationally). You can live with a few careless t/o's when he's creating offense like he did last night. We need to be more dynamic offensively to make noise in the playoffs. LA shooting fadeaways from 18' and Dame forcing contested shots isn't going to get it done. But if Nic truly has turned the corner it, it adds another dimension. When he's "right" he can score on pull-ups or off the dribble, and he can create offense for others. Watching him and LA in pick & roll last night was a thing of beauty. We don't need that from him every night, just enough to keep defenses from throwing the kitchen sink at Dame & daring somebody else on the perimeter to make a play.

I really am starting to see why Mo was a really important player for us as he was that third creator on our team. He drove us crazy but he was a threat and took a lot of heat off of Dame. I think Signing Nate Robinson could really help us for the playoffs in Mo-ish role.

Playoff rotation would work great too:

Dame (36) / Robinson (8) / Blake (4)
Wes (30) / Afflalo (12) / Robinson (6)
Nic (32) / Afflalo (12) / Wes (4)
LA (38) / Freeland ( 10)
RoLo (30) / Kaman (10) / Leonard (8)

It's an 11 man rotation which may be a bit heavy for the playoffs but I think it would work.

 

[kjironman1]

Take a look at this...
http://stats.nba.com/team/#!/1610612757/lineups/advanced/
From this story by Mike Richman he picks out a stat on the small line up of Aldridge, Batum, Affalo, Matthews, and lillard.
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...alo_finds_role_in_crunch_time_small-ball.html
"In a very short time together the group has been lights out on both ends. In 13 minutes across three games, the Aldridge-Batum-Afflalo-Matthews-Lillard lineup is scoring 134 points per 100 possessions and conceding a ridiculously stingy 55 points per 100 possessions on defense."
Pretty cool huh?

 

[bulls_with_booz]

Dude--I've been married for 16 years. Not getting anything for a week is expected.

 

[Rhal]

I have a wife who dominates the DVR on Thursday nights. Le sigh...

TNT games can be watched on NBA.com. they give you some wierd camera angles though.