Blazers look for 6th straight home win tonight against Mavericks
By Nate Mann
The Portland Trail Blazers can win their sixth straight home game tonight against the Dallas Mavericks.
At the start of the season, the Blazers couldn’t buy a win in front of their home crowd. Now, tonight’s game versus the Mavericks could mark their sixth straight win at the Moda Center.
This streak dates back to Dec. 22 when Portland lost to Denver without Damian Lillard.
Tonight also marks the Blazers first matchup against the Mavericks. They’ve played every Western Conference team so far this season besides Dallas, but face them twice in the next week.
The Dallas Mavericks currently sit 14th in the West with a record of 15-30. Without Seth Curry, and Dirk Nowitzki aging, the team is more focused on rebuilding than making the playoffs.
Portland, on the other hand, is finally out of their mid-January slump and back to winning games. Just like how they started the season, the Blazers beat Phoenix and Indiana consecutively to put them at 24-21 on the year.
Starting Lineups
With everyone healthy, Terry Stotts should run the usual starting lineup.
PG: Damian Lillard | SG: CJ McCollum | SF: Evan Turner | PF: Al-Farouq Aminu | C: Jusuf Nurkic
It will be interesting to see if Stotts staggers Dame and CJ. In the last game versus the Pacers, he played the two together for 36 minutes and separate for zero.
3 Keys to the Game
Jusuf Nurkic in the paint
Against the Pacers on Thursday, Jusuf Nurkic recorded 19 points, 17 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks on 8/14 shooting. In the absence of defensive-stud Myles Turner, Nurkic thrived down low.
The Mavericks do not field a strong frontcourt. Aging Dirk wasn’t a touted defender during his prime and especially isn’t now, while Maxi Kleber is an inexperienced big ready to be bullied by Nurk.
Setting the physicality of the game early will help the Blazers open up and early lead they can hold on to.
Defending Harrison Barnes
Evan Turner will likely have the assignment of Harrison Barnes.
On Dallas, Barnes has developed into a great scorer from all areas of the court. His team, however, provides little support. Ranked 7th worst in the league for scoring, the Mavericks post just 102.5 points per game, of which nearly one-fifth comes from Barnes.
If ET can keep him around 15 points, the rest of Dallas’s offense won’t be able to make up the gap.
Get the crowd involved
The Blazers couldn’t find a win at home to start the season. Now, they’ve won five-straight in the Moda Center, including nail-biters against the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs.
Next: Trail Blazers seek a night of good offense and good defense
We need to make the Moda Center a feared court to play on for traveling opponents. By getting crazy loud cheers in support of our guys, the opposing players are thrown off their game. Maintaining this home win streak is important for the team and fans’ morale.
Also, Stephen A. Smith says the Blazers don’t support Damian Lillard enough, and for that he should demand a trade. While the media may ignore Lillard’s greatness, we won’t. Keep the wins rolling in and the support for Lillard and the team loud.