2011 NBA Playoffs Round 1: Mavericks vs Trail Blazers

[insidehoops]

The Dallas Mavericks face the Portland Trail Blazers in the first round of the 2011 NBA Playoffs.

Discuss the matchup! Strengths of each team, weaknesses, and don't just predict the outcome -- EXPLAIN WHY!

[OmniStrife]

Best 1st round series, don't let deluded Knicks' fans tell you otherwise...

[YAWN]

Come on Dallas in 7! As a Lakers fan I would like to avoid having to win a couple games up in Portland in the post season.

[KeylessEntry]

Wallace is going to be huge in this series. Such a monster pickup for the blazers.

[RoseCity07]

I really want that first game in Dallas. We got a win @ Phoenix last year with Nash, J-Rich, and Amare killing. We can do this.

If we win the first game, so much pressure on Dallas to win game 2 knowing that they may never get another home game if they lose that one.

[Out_In_Utah]

Everybody is predicting the Blazers because it is one of the more likely upsets, and people want to look smart when they predict the upset, but this series is still in Dallases favor. I give Portland a 35% chance.

[RoseCity07]

Originally Posted by Out_In_Utah

Everybody is predicting the Blazers because it is one of the more likely upsets, and people want to look smart when they predict the upset, but this series is still in Dallases favor. I give Portland a 35% chance.

Not really. The Blazers now have Gerald Wallace, and since his arrival we've beaten Dallas twice. Now Dallas beat Portland twice, but they had Caron Butler in their building. We had Joel Pryzbilla and Cunningham instead of Wallace.


So this is Portland +Gerald Wallace vs. Dallas -Caron Butler.

The huge edge that Dallas has is home court advantage, and Dirk is the best player on either side offensively.

[Djsonny]

Dallas has declined the 2nd half of the season. They really miss Caron and Peja is not your answer. Dirk is a tough matchup at the pf, but that is over a typical pf, Aldridge is not your typical pf. He is quick and a long extension, which can easily get that hand up on dirk with his fadeways. I think it really comes down to the bench and coaching. Nate really isnt a great gametime coach. If his pre game strategies does not work, he is known to fail on switching it up during games. I still think It will be 4-3 portland with Roy and Batum coming off the bench. Batum can easily guard Jason Terry. Without Terry having huge game and lock down on dirk, this series is over.

[1987_Lakers]

Best series of the first round, could go either way but I got the Mavs in 7. I'm just glad the Lakers avoided this Portland team in the first round.

[Out_In_Utah]

Originally Posted by RoseCity07

The huge edge that Dallas has is home court advantage, and Dirk is the best player on either side offensively.

This is why Dallas should be viewed as the favorites. Also, Portland is very inconsistent and less experienced in the playoffs. Playoffs are a different ball game than the regular season, so what happened in the regular season is meaningless in this series.

Blazers in 6. They have enough bodies to put on Dirk and they score more in the paint. Mavericks are too jump shot dependent. They can beat any opponent when they are hot and they can lost to any opponent if they are ice cold.

[Out_In_Utah]

Originally Posted by ThaSwagg3r

Mavericks are too jump shot dependent. They can beat any opponent when they are hot and they can lost to any opponent if they are ice cold.

Blazers are the same way.

[DuMa]

I dont know how Portland will match up with Dirk. i think they will throw Camby at him at times but then again i can see them throwing Crash on him too. LMA needs a big series. Chandler and Haywood are the only guys who can stop him.

these matchups are the key but the real x-factor is how Brandon Roy is gonna play. He's looked good in the limited time but I'm starting to think he can play starters minutes again if they need him to

[thomaspynchon]

Really glad Game 1 comes on Sunday here. otherwise I'd miss it completely. If Dallas sticks to Stevenson in the starting lineup, they should win this.

my game 1 prediction:

mavs 98-blazers 89
dirk 33:11:4
aldridge: 17-12

[RoseCity07]

Originally Posted by Out_In_Utah

This is why Dallas should be viewed as the favorites. Also, Portland is very inconsistent and less experienced in the playoffs. Playoffs are a different ball game than the regular season, so what happened in the regular season is meaningless in this series.

Yeah you my be right. I don't care if we're underdogs. I just remember we were the 4 seed against Houston and I felt even though Houston was a 5 seed they had the edge. If Brandon Roy didn't play like Jordan in a few of those games that could have been a sweep. So seeding doesn't always mean much.

As for experience, Batum kicked as last year for us. Rudy can't possibly be any worse. Matthews had to guard Kobe and Melo last year. I think he will be very valuable as far as experience goes.

These playoffs should be awesome because there's greater upset chances in every western series.