Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Predictions, Odds & Picks

• The Dallas Mavericks are looking to reel off back-to-back wins when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers.
• Portland needs to go 2-0 if they want to take the eighth seed from the Memphis Grizzlies.
• Lillard and Doncic are two of the most productive players in the league since the NBA’s restart.

Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Odds

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Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Predictions and Picks

The Portland Trail Blazers are on a mission to make the NBA Playoffs and Damian Lillard looks like he’ll be doing his utmost to get it done. The Trail Blazers have the odds against them, but with Dallas likely to sit their stars it might fall in their favour. As ever, we expect a high-scoring affair.

Pick:

Portland Trail Blazers def. Dallas Mavericks -133

How to Watch Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks

Head-to-Head: Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks

Portland’s Potent Offence

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of the most talented offences in the game since the season restarted they’ve looked brilliant. Currently trailing the season series 1-2, the Blazers have been more than capable of scoring on their Texas-based opponents.

In three games against the Mavericks, the Trail Blazers have shot 51.3% from the field and 42.9% from three. Led by the contributions of Damian Lillard, Carmelo Anthony, and CJ McCollum, the Blazers have been exposing even the best defences, win or lose. What they’ll need to do against the Mavericks is match their offensive effort with a defensive effort to give them a fighting chance.

The Blazers are allowing the Mavericks to average 124.0 points per game while also converting on 18.3 of 48.0 three-point attempts. Certainly not one of the league’s premier defences, the Blazers will have to do more than usual to beat Dallas. Outscoring their opponents likely won’t be enough, so slowing down Dallas’ perimeter shooting will be the responsibility of Portland’s backcourt stars – a tall task to say the least.

Dallas is More than Doncic

In the Mavericks’ last match against the Utah Jazz, both Kristaps Porzingis and Luka Doncic were held out of the line-up. Without their two most talented players, and a rather average group on paper, not much was expected of the Mavericks.

Instead of giving in, the Dallas Mavericks were able to put together an impressive team effort to take down one of the leagues most efficient defences. Six different players scored in double digits, while three starters scored 20 points or more. Incredible from the field, 56.5%, and even more so from three, 50.0%, the Mavericks were able to maintain their tremendous scoring rate even without their stars.

The Trail Blazers will be fighting tooth and nail for this win, while Dallas may remain cautious and keep Porzingis and Doncic out. The plus side for Dallas is that Portland’s defence is horrendous, so it may turn into a scoring battle. It’ll be up to the Mavericks’ role players to once again show they can contain the stars.

Trail Blazers Key Player: (G) Damian Lillard

Yes, Logo Lillard made the trip to the bubble ? pic.twitter.com/1gTsnyPVBm

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 7, 2020

There is no secret to the Portland Trail Blazers’ success. When Damian Lillard is on his game, it opens up everything else for his teammates. If there were an MVP of the seeding schedule, Lillard would be right at the top of the list.

Lillard is averaging 33.0 points, 9.5 assists, and 4.3 rebounds on 47.4% from the field and 38.6% from three. Just when you thought he couldn’t get better, Lillard dropped 51 points on 16 of 28 shooting in his last match against the Philadelphia 76ers.

It’s clear who the leader of this Portland team is. It’s clear that the Blazers can’t succeed without Lillard having a big game. In both of the team’s losses during the restart, Lillard scored less than 30 points. He’ll have a tough night with rangy defenders like Delon Wright and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist chasing him, but it’s too late to doubt the ability of Dame Time.

Mavericks Key Player: (C) Boban Marjanovic

Boban with the slam.

The Mavs bench was loving it. ? @BobanMarjanovic pic.twitter.com/pJgxgURsJ0

— House of Highlights (@HoHighlights) August 3, 2020

Not much is ever expected of Marjanovic when he steps on to the court, but when he can have a presence on the game it is usually effective. He always shoots a good percentage, a product of his interior dominance, and is a solid defensive rebounder.

In the Mavericks recent match against the Jazz, Marjanovic matched up fantastically with defensive player of the year Rudy Gobert. Marjanovic held the Frenchman to nine points, five rebounds, and just one block on the evening. On the other side of things, Boban had a fantastic game, contributing 20 points, nine rebounds, and two blocks in 25 minutes of play.

Marjanovic will likely be asked to play another large role in his match against the Blazers. Portland is famous for their guard play, but they have a pair of dominant big men in Hassan Whiteside and Jusuf Nurkic. If Marjanovic can have even half the effect on them that he had on Gobert, the Mavericks could come away with another surprise victory.