Mavericks Preview

Random Stuff

Jason Quick had a pretty cool article about the team off the court. Check it out here, below I have included my favorite part.

As the rest of the media horde listened, people starting trying to guess which player asked, but was not given, Roy's shoes.

"...Sebastian (Telfair)?" came one of the guesses.

"(Bleep) Sebastian," a disgusted voice said nearby.

That voice was Blazers guard Jerryd Bayless, whose locker is next to Roy's. There were a few "oohs" when he said it, and jokingly I turned to Bayless and said "Quote, unquote", playfully threatening to quote him.

"I don't care,'' Bayless said, cinching up his tie.

Later, I went back to Bayless and made sure I could quote him.

"As long as you don't use the cuss word,'' Bayless said.

After a HUGE win over the Lakers that was mired in controversy, the Blazers have maybe an even more important game tonight at the Rose Garden. The Dallas Mavericks roll into town, as the only western conference team that Blazers have not beat this year. Hopefully that streak ends tonight.

A bonus for the Blazers is swingman Josh Howard is out for tonight’s game, giving Dallas one less player to hurt us with. However, they did get Jason Terry back a week ago, and he seems to have picked up right where he left off. On the Blazers injury front, Rudy is out for tonight’s game along with Oden and Martell (no suprises). Bayless is a game time decision due to illness. He left practice early yesterday, so hopefully he is feeling good enough to go tonight. Nate has said he could use either Outlaw or Batum to play in Rudy’s place, but that will all depend on who the Mavs have out there on the court. Either way it will be interesting to see how the Blazers scramble tonight with a short lineup.

Keys to the Game

1. Be Physical With Dirk
1. Aldridge needs to body up on Dirk and not let him get easy and open looks. If he does, he will kill us the entire night. Force him to take tough shots right out the gate and don’t let him find a shooting rhythm.
2. Defend the Pick and Roll
1. Anyone who watched the Christmas day game versus the Mavs knows that we got hammered on their pick and rolls. We need to fight through the picks and look to rotate and help quickly so we don’t leave any of the shooters open.
3. Play With the Same Aggressiveness and Energy As We Did Versus LA
1. If the Blazers can harness that energy that was put forth last game versus LA, we could have a serious team on our hands. I hope this is the case tonight versus the Mavs.

With Denver dropping 8 of their last 12 and Utah winning their last 12 in a row, every game is huge for the Blazers. Utah has a difficult schedule remaining which includes 10 of their last 18 versus winning teams on the road. If we can keep up the momentum from the LA game going, then we have a legit shot at winning the division title, thus gaining home court advantage in the playoffs.

Gambler’s Corner

Portland -8

Over/Under 196

I am going with the Mavericks and the over. I think Portland will once again attempt to speed up the pace of the game, and get some easy baskets. Also, I think the Blazers will win, but I do not think it will be a blowout.

Lakers Preview

After a narrow win against the Timberwolves on Saturday night, the Blazers prep for the rival Lakers tonight. I am excited to see how they respond to such a close game versus the Wolves. It is a known fact that the Blazers play the Lakers tough at home. LA has not won in the Rose Garden since 2005, and I would like to keep that streak alive tonight.

The Lakers are coming off of their 50^th win of the season. An impressive feat considering they have been playing without their starting center, Andrew Bynum, for the last couple of months. But, the same can be said for Blazers and Greg Oden, who will again be out for tonight’s game. According to sources, Oden most likely is still a couple weeks away from returning, so don’t expect him back anytime soon.

We will have to play a near perfect game tonight to beat the Lakers, and believe me, they are well aware of the fact that they haven’t won here in 4 years, so there will be no sneaking up on them. Here are my keys to the game.

Keys to the Game.

1. Neutralize Gasol
1. It starts inside with Gasol. If we can limit the damage he does in the paint, then it will force other players to step up. Granted they have some guy named Kobe, but if you look, he has scored big on us in the past and we still won. If Gasol and Kobe score big tonight, you can kiss a win goodbye.
2. Defensive Rebound
1. The Lakers are the only team in the NBA that is more efficient then Portland on offense. That means we cannot give them second chance opportunities when they do miss. We HAVE to block out and get every single rebound. Players like Batum, Outlaw, and Aldridge will have to come up big for us in this category tonight.
3. Cannot Have Any Letdowns
1. If we go through an offensive lull like we sometimes do, then this game is pretty much over. We need to play hard and efficient for 48 minutes, anything less and we will most likely come up short.
4. Play With A Swagger
1. This is our home court. We need to protect it. Play hard, play smart, and play our game.

Gambler’s Corner

Blazers +2.5

Over/Under 202

I am going to take the Blazers and the Over. I think they will come out and play the Lakers tough. I am going with the over because I think if we win it’s because we scored a lot of points and shot well. If we don’t then we will probably lose.