Portland Trail Blazers at Mavericks preview7:30 p.m. Tuesday, American Airlines Center, Ch. 21; ESPN-FM (103.3), KFLC-AM (1270 Spanish)11:58 PM CST on Monday, March 6, 2006By DAVID MOORE / Staff WriterSeries: Mavericks lead this season, 2-0. Portland leads all-time, 65-44.Key matchupDirk Nowitzki vs. Zach Randolph: Randolph is the Blazers' best player. He's scored 20 or more points in three of his last five games and has 19 double-doubles on the season. Portland is 7-4 when he goes for at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. He's averaged 21 points against the Mavericks, which is only 1.5 points less than Nowitzki has averaged against Portland. Nowitzki is on a pretty good streak, averaging 27.6 points and 10.6 rebounds and shooting 52.1 percent in his last five games.Youth isn't served: Portland is in a rebuilding phase. The team's average age is just over 24, making it the second-youngest roster in the league to Atlanta. Portland has five players who came straight from high school ? Ha Seun Jin, Darius Miles, Travis Outlaw, Sebastain Telfair and Martell Webster ? the most in the league.Briefly: Guard Steve Blake is coming off a career-high 23-point game against Houston. He's averaging 17.5 points over his last four games, more than double his season average. ... The Blazers play 10 of their next 11 games against teams that would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. ... The teams turn right around and play each other in Portland on Thursday. ... The Blazers have lost eight in a row to the Mavericks.Inside the MavericksLooking back: What does losing to San Antonio and Phoenix in a four-day span say about the Mavericks right now? "We're right there with both of them," forward Dirk Nowitzki said. "You've got to be consistent and persistent in what you do, and we're not there yet."Briefly: Tonight ends the most generous home stretch of the season. The Mavericks will have played 14 of their last 17 games at home. The scales are about to shift as the Mavericks play 10 of their next 13 games on the road. ... Coach Avery Johnson has a 62-15 record since taking over the Mavericks, tying him with former Phoenix coach Paul Westphal for the most wins in his first 82 games. Westphal's record was 62-20. Johnson will own the record with at least one win in the next five games.PROBABLE STARTERSBlazers Pos. MavericksTravis Outlaw F Marquis DanielsZach Randolph F Dirk NowitzkiBrian Skinner C DeSagana DiopJuan Dixon G Adrian GriffinSteve Blake G Jason Terryhttp://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dw...ox.d99ef3e.html
Having 2 and a half days off will help them recover from that Suns game I think. Prediction: Mavs win 100-85.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (ArizonaFan @ Mar 7 2006, 07:25 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Wow, you guys are losing after 3 quarters. This is really sad...I love it though.</div>Ouch
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Wow, you guys are losing after 3 quarters. This is really sad...I love it though.</div>Really sad to be talking before the game ends.Mavs had to comeback after going down 13 with another rough start. I believe now we've had 37, 35, 37 respectively 1st half points. That's just bad, and I honestly don't know why. Also, refs were very whistle happy tonight for both teams. Mavs did their job finally by finishing the game strong, Harris being back a coincidence?
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rok @ Mar 7 2006, 09:24 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Really sad to be talking before the game ends.Mavs had to comeback after going down 13 with another rough start. I believe now we've had 37, 35, 37 respectively 1st half points. That's just bad, and I honestly don't know why. Also, refs were very whistle happy tonight for both teams. Mavs did their job finally by finishing the game strong, Harris being back a coincidence?</div> :flex: I did it on purpose so you guys would win... And a guy from another forum also had no excuses or explanation for Dallas' play. That's a first for him.
Harris was awesome tonight. He was the one guy that could stay with Blake. When Howard comes back I am looking forward to a Harris, Terry, and Howard back court. Teams will find it hard to defend against that versatility of shooters and slashers.
Anyone get the feeling Terry is like Finley in that great shooter, but when not shooting, he adds nothing. Terry's defense is bad. I'll be leery in giving Terry a contract if he asks for a deal over 8 mil.
No I think Terry is a better shooter than Finley and better off the dribble. They both play horrible defense though but I like Terry's offense better.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>No I think Terry is a better shooter than Finley and better off the dribble. They both play horrible defense though but I like Terry's offense better.</div>You basically just reiterated what I just said, what else does Terry bring other then a shooter?
Not much but Dallas needs shooters. Without Terry, Dallas would be running low on outside shooters and teams will pack it in on Dallas and force Dallas to beat them from the outside. If Dallas can get another shooter in Terry's place that can create a little on the fastbreak than I'm fine with letting Terry go but Terry hits big shots and is a pure shooter.
