New week, new opportunities ahead. Let’s get it!
*NBA(1u): Mavericks ML(-115) @ Trail Blazers–9:10 PM CT
The Mavericks have lost 4 out of their past 5 games, but they really haven’t played that poorly. On Christmas Day, they took the Jazz right down to the wire before ultimately losing by 4 points; as 12.5 point dogs in that game, that was quite an impressive performance. This team is not at full strength(Doncic, Hardaway Jr, Burke, and others are still out), but they still have the major health advantage over this Blazers squad. Portland will be with only 8 players tonight after Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and both of their centers(Nurkic and Zeller) were added to the health and safety protocols. Damian Lillaird should enjoy a nice game, but the Mavericks do play pretty good defense and should be able to lock down the other pieces on the Blazers side. Like I said, this will be a small Blazers lineup, presenting a good opportunity for Dallas C Kristaps Porzingis to have a good night. Portland hasn’t played in 6 days and has been a play against team all season; with almost no depth entering this game and playing a team that has shown more life, they’re a “play against” team once again tonight.
