Dallas Mavericks vs Portland Trail Blazers Prediction: The Trail Blazers have been focused

The NBA Regular Season has been on and what a prolific start to the season. There has been a lot of see-saw battles and some teams whose rise has been unprecedented. These were the teams who were not given a chance to enter the upper echelons but they have announced their arrival in big ways. One of those teams Portland Trail Blazers is going to take on the Dallas Mavericks here.

The Mavericks come into this game after losing 105:113 to the Washington Wizards despite a 33 points outburst by Spencer Dinwiddie. They have lost two in a row and the two-game road trip was a rocky one for them. Overall, they have six wins and five losses, and they have some early issues that need to be sorted out. Still, at home, they have a fantastic record of five wins and one loss, so it is away from home where they are exposed. The next five games are at home so their chances of getting around a 60% win record look boisterous.

With Luka Doncic at the helm, things can get on track sooner than later and as expected, he has been in MVP form. Apart from Luka, Spencer Dinwiddie has been amazing as the second option and has had multiple 25+ points efforts. Apart from these two, Christian Wood is a viable option. Tim Hardaway has looked a bit rusty coming back from injury and he may have found his usual spark recently. The scoring depth at the Forward position has been a bit questionable and the defense needs to tighten up in crunch time.

The Trail Blazers come into this game after beating the New Orleans Pelicans 106:95 as Jerami Grant nabbed 27 points. The Trail Blazers are on a three-game winning streak and so far have defied expectations despite having a particularly deep lineup. They have struck a great balance and coach Chauncey Billups knows how to make Grant effective on both ends of the floor. The defensive end is also helped by the presence of Josh Hart and his hustle makes up for a consistent offensive output.

The Trail Blazers have gotten six wins and one loss with Damian Lillard whereas they have three wins and two losses without him, which makes their performance even more impressive. Anfernee Simons has been a great player since last season and his scoring has aided the Blazers' offense well. Jusuf Nurkic has been a big influence while wing Justise Winslow has kept the hustle theme going off the bench and as an injury replacement in the starting lineup. Although they may not look deep, the Trail Blazers have been coached well and despite multiple shooting struggles, they make up for it with their disciplined defense. After all, they beat a full-strength Pelicans without Lillard and Nurkic

• Trail Blazers: OUT: Gary Payton II, Olivier Sarr. Game-Time Decisions: Shaedon Sharpe, Jusuf Nurkic, Keon Johnson, Jerami Grant: Justise Winslow;
• Mavericks: OUT: Davis Bertans. PROBABLE: Christian Wood.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Damian Lillard(30+ Points), Luka Doncic(30+ Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Jusuf Nurkic(10-14 Rebounds), Luka Doncic(9-11 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakeres: Luka Doncic(9-13 Assists), Damian Lillard(8-11 Assists).

The Trail Blazers have been ringing it home for a decent time now and again and again, they have battled injuries and overcome adversity in a great way. The Mavericks have received their usual bit of greatness from Luka Doncic who has been once again exploding to the scene. Both backcourts seem to match up well so the Trail Blazers will need Grant to extract a sizeable advantage as his presence plays a crucial role. I believe Portland can end up winning here.