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Portland Trail Blazers vs. Dallas Mavericks: Injury report and how to watch

By Marlow Ferguson Jr.

DALLAS, TEXAS - JANUARY 17: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against Justin Jackson #44 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at American Airlines Center on January 17, 2020 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TEXAS - JANUARY 17: Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers drives to the basket against Justin Jackson #44 of the Dallas Mavericks in the first quarter at American Airlines Center on January 17, 2020 in Dallas, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /
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The Portland Trail Blazers will know a lot about their Playoff hopes after today’s games. In the meantime, the Dallas Mavericks are on the schedule. Here’s how to watch.

It’s unclear as to if there’s ever a “convenient” time to have the most efficient offensive team in NBA history up next on your schedule. But for the Portland Trail Blazers, it’ll be a matter of “ready or not,” as they prepare to battle the Dallas Mavericks in one of the more pivotal games on the Orlando calendar.

The Blazers (33-39) dealt themselves a positive hand by going 4-2 in the bubble, but their fight to survive the test of time hasn’t gotten much easier. They’re just as close to snatching the No. 8 seed (0.5 games back of Memphis) as they are to missing the play-in tournament altogether (0.5 games ahead of both Phoenix and San Antonio).

And for that reason, we can consider Aug. 11 to be the biggest day of the Portland Trail Blazers’ 2019-20 season.

Portland opened the season series with Dallas with a 121-119 victory on Oct. 27, a game that’s likely more remembered for the Zach Collins injury. But, the Mavericks (43-30) fired off consecutive wins over Portland in 2020, first 120-112, and then 133-125. Finding a way to contain the Mavericks’ explosive offense will be paramount.

Dallas comes in, unfortunately, with much to play for, too now that they’ve moved to within a game of the Utah Jazz’s No. 6 seed. They cut the deficit to just one game, which grants them a way of avoiding a first round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The one caveat to watch for: when Dallas did beat Utah yesterday, they did so without stars Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. If they didn’t play them in that game, are they truly worried about what happens tonight?

They were not listed on this morning’s injury report. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the details:

Injury report, per CBS Sports:
— (POR) — Hassan Whiteside, hip (ruled “available,” per NBC Sports Northwest’s Jamie Hudson)
— (DAL) — Dorian Finney-Smith, hip (game-time decision)
— (DAL) — Courtney Lee, calf (out for season)
— (DAL) — Dwight Powell, Achilles (out for season)

How to follow the action:

— Date: Sunday, August 11th
— Time: 3:30 PT

— How to watch: TNT, NBC Sports Northwest, NBA League Pass, or fuboTV

— How to listen: NBA League Pass, Rip City Radio 620 AM

Portland Trail Blazers projected lineup:

— Damian Lillard (G), CJ McCollum (G), Carmelo Anthony (F), Zach Collins (F) and Jusuf Nurkic (C)

Dallas Mavericks projected lineup:

— Luka Doncic (G), Seth Curry (G), Tim Hardaway Jr. (F), Dorian Finney-Smith (F) and Kristaps Porzingis (C)

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