These two teams faced off a little over two weeks ago, a 101-89 Portland victory. Since then Dallas has won 4 of 6, with two home losses to Orlando and Oklahoma City. Portland meanwhile has won 5 of 6, so both teams are coming in with their heads up. You know Dallas’ personnel by now so you know they are incredibly talented. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry, Jason Kidd and Caron Butler all have the ability to steal your soul. So talent is not their problem. Dallas’ problem this year has been consistency. Since the All-Star Break, some games they have been tremendous and others they have been mediocre. Seriously…just look at their recent stretch. One day they lose by 12 to us, a couple days later they beat Denver by 16, then they get blown out at home by Orlando. They are like that girl in college who is super attractive but for some reason she shows up to a class looking a beast…they just shouldn’t do the things they do sometimes.

The keys to that win over Dallas two weeks ago were…..de-fense, clap clap. Portland was excellent in rotating, taking things away and playing great defense as a unit. That will have to continue tonight as I’m sure Dallas will be more prepared for a stronger Blazer defensive team. Portland has held opponents to 90 or below in 7 of their last 9 games, losing only one of those games (at Phoenix). The personnel is there to frustrate Dirk and co….but Portland has to be prepared for others to step up. Jason Terry in particular fancies sticking it to the Blazers and if you recall Caron Butler not only killed us last time, but he got in a cussing match with a fan and lost some dough. He might decide to show up in Portland to kick ass and chew straws…and he might be all out of straws. The defense needs to be there and Portland needs to be in attack mode. I know we have guys who can hit the mid-range but I’d like to see a little more aggression in attacking the basket. And then…there is the bench. *sigh*.

This is a playoff preview of sorts, not just because these two teams may match up in the first round but simply because these are two playoff level teams playing for something. It should be fun to watch. I firmly believe that Dallas is the ideal first round opponent for the Blazers, and while the seeding may make that tough to happen…let’s hope the Blazers prove me right tonight.

Marc Stein (via Twitter):

Mavs and Wizards have completed their trade call with the league office. Deal will be announced later tonight. Seven-player swap in the end

DAL gets Butler, Haywood and Stevenson as was always the case once teams agreed Friday. WASH gets Josh Howard, Gooden, Q. Ross and Singleton

Marc Spears (via Twitter):

Washington trade of Butler, Haywood and Stevenson to Dallas for Howard, Gooden, Ross and Singleton recently became official, source tells Y!

Considering the Wizards were reported to be wanting Batum and Rudy just for Haywood, it was probably unrealistic Portland would have gotten a good price considering the talent in Howard that Washington got in return. Dallas obviously wins on the talent side of the deal, but this seems like it must be the first half of a move to get rid of Antawn Jamison as well, clear contracts and start all over.

UPDATE: Here’s the full story from Stein. And Kelly Dwyer’s reaction over at Ball Don’t Lie:

Butler can play. He’s had a rough 2009-10, getting used to Flip Saunders’ exacting offense, but the former Heat, Laker, and Wizard has long shown all-around gifts that can fit in alongside dominant players, and dominant personalities. Though his production has declined this season and he turns 30 a month from today, the hope is that Butler can be a clear upgrade from Josh Howard, who was struggling through a decisively subpar season this year.

There’s a bigger element to this trade, however, both in literal and figurative terms. Brendan Haywood has long been criticized for inconsistent play, but at 7-feet tall and in the prime of his career, Haywood is still a starting-quality center that can really turn these Mavericks around. Pared with an all-world playmaker in Jason Kidd, I think you’ll see Haywood surprise a lot of people.

According to NBA.com, over the last 11 games the Blazers are shooting 50 percent and scoring 115.6 points per 100 possessions. In other words this, as we all know being a primarily jump-shooting team, group was due to a hit an offensive rut. So tonight they scored 107 per 100, shot 45.1 percent, and made a not-horrible 15-of-33 on 16-23 footers but a quite-horrible 3-of-17 from beyond the arc.

Because it was the Wizards, they still had a chance. That’s not to say the Wiz didn’t play well — they took advantage of mismatches much more than the Orlando Magic did three days ago — but they didn’t shut the door on Portland until opening Pandora’s Box of defense in the final few minutes. Martell Webster scored 18 points, but every single one of his made buckets were assisted. What the Blazers needed and never found was a true third scoring option. Jerryd Bayless did his best on the creative end with eight assists, but Andre Miller (22 points) needed more help than just LaMarcus Aldridge pitching a tent under the offensive glass like it was 2006 (nine offensive boards, 15 total).

The Wiz really did play some fantastic D in places. They threw some zone into the early mix, which the Blazers busted with ball movement, but once they got used to Miller’s unconventional-ness, Portland was often down to needing bailout shots. In the last two minutes, the Blazers had a possession where Miller, Bayless and Aldridge each touched the ball at least twice, none of them gaining more than a couple feet of space or penetration. That possession resulted in Portland’s three best playmakers doing nothing, and Miller launching a 27-footer from the top of the key. With the jumpers from their 35-point third quarter not there and the Wizards working the paint, the chances of winning dwindled with each passing minutes of the final period.

With Earl Boykins at one point beating the entire team down the court for a layup, with big men standing five feet away no less, it wasn’t difficult to see that the Blazers had the “No Turbo” handicap switched to “On”. Attribute that to an early game on the East Coast if you will, but this was mostly just Portland’s offense averaging out and them running out of heroes to fill in for offensive losses. And since road tipoff was earlier than most people chose to wake up on their day off, this will probably wind up being one of the more forgettable games across the fanbase.

Individual Thoughts:

This was Andre Miller throwback night, all afternoon. Whatever the Blazers needed him to do, he did (other than hit three’s). He drove, he spotted up, he pulled up, he grabbed an offensive board with big men around and basically took all the offensive possessions late in the game that Roy would have. Because so much of the burden fell on him — only two of his makes were assisted — the assists were down to two, but if you consider that Portland might have completely slept through this game without him, he gets a tip of the ol’ fedora.

LaMarcus Aldridge had a very Oden-esque night on the boards as he put himself in all the right places. The only problem with that was he was able to set himself up inside because he wasn’t involved enough in the offense. He’s still getting his touches and took the most shots on the team (17), but as one of Portland’s last bastions of efficient offense, he could probably be asked to do even more. The possession mentioned above, with Bayless and Miller, saw Aldridge getting the ball 16 feet away from the hoop with players watching him, seemingly expecting creation. Put him in better position, which might include having him roll to the rim once in awhile rather than predictably popping off the pick every time.

Strange as it is to say, Portland could have used a little post offense out of Juwan Howard tonight. Not that it’s fair to ask this of him, but a few of those bonus baskets he’s been providing could have come in real handy.

Jerryd Bayless played the distributor role well, though only two of his eight assists were within 15 feet of the hoop. I maintain that he really needs to find an in-between game, as it’s becoming very apparent that shotblocker-types are just sitting back and waiting for him rather than moving their feet and meeting him higher in the lane. It makes things too easy on defenses and makes Bayless’ offense too dependent on long jumpers and referee generosity down low.

As I mentioned, Webster had a strong night spotting up, but the moment things fell on him with the shot clock winding down, his smooth rhythm gets cut off like the giant gong getting the bad acts off stage. The Wiz crowded him later in the game, making it tougher for passers to get him the ball.

Steve Blake was solid, which is another way of me saying I don’t have many notes on him for good or bad.

Rudy Fernandez looks like the easiest guy on the team to scout right now, even more so than Bayless. With Roy missing time, the patience meter for him to get his groove back (again) is going to be unfairly short.