PREMIUM
GAME OF THE WEEK (Rogers' 10* NBA) >> #1 PLAY THIS WEEK!
(NBA) Dallas vs. Portland,
Point Spread: -4.50 | -111.00 Portland (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: -4.50 | -111.00 Portland (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: The Portland Trail Blazers are looking to make it a clean sweep of a three-game homestand when they host Dallas Mavericks on Saturday. In fact, 24-21 Portland will be going for its sixth straight home victory against the 15-30 Mavs, who are battling to stay out of the Western Conference 'basement,' currently occupied by the 13-32 Sacramento Kings.
Dallas: The Mavs enter having lost five of seven but are still getting big performances from rookie PG Dennis Smith Jr., who led the way with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting and five assists on Tuesday in the team's 105-102 loss at Denver. It marked the third time in the last four games that the NC State product scored 20 or more points, raising his season scoring average to 14.5 (3.1 RPG and 3.9 APG). Fellow young PG Yogi Ferrell (10.2-3.5-2.4) is enjoying a hot stretch as well, averaging 15.3 points on 53.5 percent shooting over the last four contests. SF Harrison Barnes leads the team in scoring (18.7) and rebounding (6.7) and while Nowitzki (12.2 & 5.5) is no longer an All Star, he's a dependable player.
Portland: The Blazers watched a 20-point lead evaporate, before holding on for a 118-111 triumph over Phoenix on Tuesday. They then had a much better showing late on Thursday, holding the Indiana Pacers to 12 points in the fourth quarter to earn a 100-86 victory. "We just made plays when we needed to in the fourth quarter," Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "In the fourth quarter, it was good to see just the lead kind of expand without having very many mistakes." Portland will challenge Smith and Ferrell with its star guard tandem of Damian Lillard (25.0-4.8-6.5) and CJ McCollum (21.5-4.0-3.3). However, Portland is at its best when center Jusuf Nurkic (14.5 & 8.0) is producing. Nurkic delivered 19 points and 17 rebounds in Thursday's win and averages 15.2 points and 8.7 boards in wins while posting 13.7 and 7.3 in losses.
The pick: The road team won each of the four meetings last season, with Dallas winning the two in Portland by a total of five points. However, Dallas is just 6-15 SU on the road this season while Portland's current five-game home winning streak is its longest of the season. This "more than reasonable" pointspread makes the Blazers a 10* play.
Dallas: The Mavs enter having lost five of seven but are still getting big performances from rookie PG Dennis Smith Jr., who led the way with 25 points on 11-of-18 shooting and five assists on Tuesday in the team's 105-102 loss at Denver. It marked the third time in the last four games that the NC State product scored 20 or more points, raising his season scoring average to 14.5 (3.1 RPG and 3.9 APG). Fellow young PG Yogi Ferrell (10.2-3.5-2.4) is enjoying a hot stretch as well, averaging 15.3 points on 53.5 percent shooting over the last four contests. SF Harrison Barnes leads the team in scoring (18.7) and rebounding (6.7) and while Nowitzki (12.2 & 5.5) is no longer an All Star, he's a dependable player.
Portland: The Blazers watched a 20-point lead evaporate, before holding on for a 118-111 triumph over Phoenix on Tuesday. They then had a much better showing late on Thursday, holding the Indiana Pacers to 12 points in the fourth quarter to earn a 100-86 victory. "We just made plays when we needed to in the fourth quarter," Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts told reporters. "In the fourth quarter, it was good to see just the lead kind of expand without having very many mistakes." Portland will challenge Smith and Ferrell with its star guard tandem of Damian Lillard (25.0-4.8-6.5) and CJ McCollum (21.5-4.0-3.3). However, Portland is at its best when center Jusuf Nurkic (14.5 & 8.0) is producing. Nurkic delivered 19 points and 17 rebounds in Thursday's win and averages 15.2 points and 8.7 boards in wins while posting 13.7 and 7.3 in losses.
The pick: The road team won each of the four meetings last season, with Dallas winning the two in Portland by a total of five points. However, Dallas is just 6-15 SU on the road this season while Portland's current five-game home winning streak is its longest of the season. This "more than reasonable" pointspread makes the Blazers a 10* play.
