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No. 6 Portland Trailblazers (48-34) at No. 3 Dallas Mavericks (57-25)
Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 9:30 pm EST on ESPN
Spread: Dallas Mavericks -5
Money Line: Mavs -220 / Trailblazers +180
Over/Under: 186
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The Portland Trailblazers, the sixth seed in the Western Conference, travel to play the third-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first game of a seven-game playoff series.
The seasons series is tied 2-2, with Dallas winning the first two games and Portland winning the last two.
If you think the Portland Trailblazers are a good upset pick because they’ve been bounced the last two years in the first round, you might want to look a little deeper. Not saying you’re wrong. Just consider that the patchwork unit Portland used to make it to the playoffs has a bona fide star in LaMarcus Aldridge, but not much else. And Aldridge might be enough to win it, however, considering the way the Blazers play defense. If you’re leaning toward Portland, you can count on him for 30 points/15 rebounds per game playing against the team he grew up watching in Dallas.
You all do realize that Dallas finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference, right? Yeah, me either. They did it in an underwhelming way, but they still have the horses to outlast Portland in a seven-game series, a la Dirk Nowitzki is still standing on two feet. If they can get more production out of Jason Kidd, who had a combined one point in Dallas’ two losses to Portland, they’ll probably be alright.
Portland plays tough backcourt defense. So tough that they’ve given everyone in the NBA fits this year. Which means how Kidd, Jason Terry and Rodrigue Beaubois play will have a huge impact on this series. If they all go in the tank at once then it’s curtains for the Mavs.
Portland needs to let Aldridge do his thing _ he’s had a coming-out party the last two years and they’ve ridden him into the playoffs æ.æ.æ. why not see if he can take them a little further? Assuming Dirk gets his, Dallas needs Tyson Chandler to really make Marcus Camby work his late-30s legs on defense, where he makes the biggest impact. They neutralize each other and Dallas has more guns remaining.
The odds makers have the Dallas Mavericks as a -5 point favorite with an over/under of 186.
Check out the latest NBA Basketball Playoff Odds here.
Prediction: Dirk does it big come playoff time. Mavs by 4.
Need more help making your picks winners? Check out our top handicappers.
Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trailblazers 2011 Playoff Schedule
Game 1: Sat. April 16: Portland @ Dallas – 9:30 pm EST on ESPN
Game 2: Tue. April 19: Portland @ Dallas – 9:30 pm EST on TNT
Game 3: Thu. April 21: Dallas @ Portland – 9:30 pm EST on TNT
Game 4: Sat. April 23: Dallas @ Portland – 4:00 pm EST on TNT
Game 5: Mon. April 25: Portland @ Dallas – TBD
*Game 6: Thu. April 28: Dallas @ Portland – TBD
*Game 7: Sat. April 30: Portland @ Dallas – TBD
* If necessary
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Dallas Mavericks Betting Trends:
- Dallas is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
- Dallas is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games at home
- Dallas is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing Portland
- Dallas is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games when playing Portland
Portland Trail Blazers Betting Trends:
- Portland is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Portland’s last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Portland’s last 7 games on the road
- Portland is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games on the road
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