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Mavs, Blazers battle in Portland on Friday
By: Sam Chase - StatFox
Published: 2/3/2017  at  11:44:00 AM
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DALLAS MAVERICKS (19-30)

at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (22-28)

Tip-off: Friday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Portland -5.5, Total: 206.5

Both the Mavs and the Blazers are riding hot streaks. Which will prevail on Friday?

After incredibly sweeping a back-to-back against the Spurs (105-101, DAL +11.5) and the Cavaliers (104-97, DAL +4.5) on Sunday, the Mavericks continued their winning ways on Wednesday with a 113-95 home win over the 76ers (DAL -7.5). Now having won five of their last six, the Mavs are 19-30 on the season (26-23 ATS), only 2.5 games out of the playoffs in the Western Conference standings. After a night off, Dallas travels to Portland for a Friday night date with the Trail Blazers. The Blazers are hot, too, having won four of their last five—a run that most recently included a 115-98 takedown of the Hornets on Tuesday (POR -3.5). The win improved Portland’s record to 22-28 (22-28 ATS), good for a light grip on the West’s No. 8 seed. Over the last five seasons, games involving a road team that covered the spread in its last game and is playing its sixth or more game in 10 days are 195-116 Under against the total when it is set between 200 and 209.5. This year, Dallas is 20-7 ATS against teams making at least 76% of their free throw attempts. PGs Deron Williams and Jose Juan Barea are out indefinitely for Dallas, and C Andrew Bogut is expected to miss Friday’s game. PF Ed Davis is probable to play for Portland.

Dallas ranks 24th in the league with an offensive efficiency rating of 105.7 points per 100 possessions and 18th with a defensive efficiency rating of 108.5 points per 100 possessions. Averaging 91.6 possessions per 48 minutes, the Mavs play the second slowest pace in the NBA. With Williams (13.5 PPG, 7.1 APG) and Barea (12.2 PPG, 4.9 APG) out, PG Seth Curry (11.5 PPG, 1.3 SPG) has shined at the position. He has started the Mavericks’ last 10 games, a stretch in which the team is 7-3. Over that span, he has averaged 18.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 3.8 APG and 1.8 SPG. He had his best game of the year against San Antonio, scoring 24 points, grabbing 10 boards and dishing out five assists. SF Harrison Barnes (20.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG) had 24 and 11 against Cleveland and he has been Dallas’ go-to guy on offense all year. He appears to be growing more efficient, as he shot 49.2% from the floor in January (47.4% on the season). PF Dirk Nowitzki (12.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG) takes 11.9 shots per game, his fewest since his rookie season in the late ’90s. SG Wes Matthews (15.0 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.2 SPG) had a quiet January (13.3 PPG, five games with 11 points or fewer), but finished the month with 17 and 21 against the Spurs and Cavs, respectively. PG Yogi Ferrell (13.0 PPG, 5.0 APG in three games) had been dynamite on a 10-day contract, which the team is likely to extend. He had 19 points and four steals against the Cavs.

Things are ugly on defense for the Blazers, where they rank 26th in the league with an efficiency rating of 111.8 points allowed per 100 possessions. They make up for it somewhat with the league’s 10th-best offense, which averages 109.6 points per 100 possessions. They average 97.1 possessions per 48 minutes, the 12th-fastest pace in the NBA. PG Damian Lillard (26.2 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 5.8 APG) has been playing almost exactly at his season averages in the team’s last five games—he’s scoring 26.2 PPG and shooting 44.7% from the floor (44.6% for the season). He was deadly in only 31 minutes against the Hornets, scoring 27 points on 10-of-18 shooting. SG C.J. McCollum (23.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.1 SPG) has stepped his game up over that span, as he’s shooting 56.4% from the floor in his last five (48.4% for the season). He nearly led to the team to an upset win over the Warriors this past Sunday, scoring 28 points on 10-of-16 shooting in a 113-111 loss (POR +6). SF Maurice Harkless (11.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.2 SPG), SG Allen Crabbe (10.8 PPG, 2.9 RPG) and SG Evan Turner (9.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.4 APG) provide scoring on the wings. Crabbe is a marksman, shooting 43.9% from three and making 1.6 of them per game. C Mason Plumlee (11.1 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.1 APG, 1.0 SPG, 1.2 BPG) is a strong presence inside, where he’s flanked by PFs Noah Vonleh (3.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG) and Meyers Leonard (5.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG) and SF Al-Farouq Aminu (7.3 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 1.0 SPG).


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