#PORatDAL preview
DALLAS - Getting healthy is the main focus for the Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks, who both are locked into their respective playoff seeds in the Western Conference.
Blazers coach Terry Stotts is hoping LaMarcus Aldridge will be able to play when Portland visits Dallas in the regular-season finale Wednesday night.
Aldridge has a left foot sprain that has kept him out of the last two games for the Northwest Division champion Blazers (51-30), who are the fourth seed in the West but won't have home-court advantage in the first round because they will finish with a worse record than the No. 5 seed.
Arron Afflalo will miss up to two weeks with a right shoulder strain, and his replacement in the starting lineup, C.J. McCollum, sprained his left ankle at the end of the first half of Monday's 101-90 loss to Oklahoma City.
McCollum didn't return, nor did Nicolas Batum after he hurt his right knee in the first quarter. Chris Kaman also tweaked his back in the first half.
Damian Lillard finished with 10 points against the Thunder after sitting for the entire fourth quarter.
Stotts isn't sure what his lineup will look like against Dallas, but he's hoping Aldridge will suit up.
INJURY REPORT
Portland: To be announced.
Dallas: Devin Harris (left great toe injury) is questionable. Chandler Parsons (right knee injury) is questionable.
Participation Status Key:
- Probable – 75% chance that the player will play in the game
- Questionable – 50% chance that the player will play in the game
- Doubtful – 25% chance that the player will play in the game
- Out – Player will not play in the game
Projected Starters
SF
PF
C
SG
PG
Season Series
Previous Games
Remaining Games
Series Notes
- Wednesday marks the fourth and final matchup between the Trail Blazers and Mavericks in 2014-15.
- Portland has won two of its three games against Dallas this season, with both of its wins coming by an average of 20.0 points.
- A win would give the Trail Blazers their first season series victory over Dallas since 2009-10 (3-1).
- In the most recent game between these two teams on March 5 (POR 94, DAL 75), LaMarcus Aldridge (17 pts, 12 reb) and Nicolas Batum (15 pts, 12 reb) both recorded double-doubles for Portland.
- LaMarcus Aldridge has averaged 20.6 points and 11.0 rebounds in three games against Dallas this season (two double-doubles).
- CJ McCollum has averaged 7.6 points in three games off the bench against Dallas this season, while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
- Damian Lillard has registered double-digit scoring in each of his 10 career games against the Mavericks.
- The last time these two teams met in Dallas on Feb. 7, Dallas closed the fourth quarter on a 13-2 run over the final 2:50 to force overtime (W, 111-101).
- In that Feb. 7 game, Portland limited Dirk Nowitzki to 10 points, his second lowest scoring output against the Trail Blazers dating back to Dec. 23, 2003.
- The Mavericks have allowed their opponents to score at least 100 points in eight consecutive games (4-4). Dallas ranks 25th in the league in terms of points allowed per game (102.4).
- The Trail Blazers have earned just two wins in their previous nine regular season trips to Dallas.
- Trail Blazers Head Coach Terry Stotts helped lead Dallas to the 2011 NBA Championship in one of his four years as a Mavericks assistant coach from 2008-12.
- LAST SEASON: Dallas won two of its three games against the Trail Blazers.
In Portland's Last Game
Seeing Portland lose 101-90 was really no surprise, nor a big deal, as the Thunder needed a win to keep their playoff hopes alive while the Trail Blazers had nothing tangible to play for.
But losing both Nicolas Batum and CJ McCollum, both of whom started Monday night’s game, to injury in the process was the distressing part.
Batum left late in the first quarter with a right knee injury suffered while trying to pull down a rebound with 1:37 to play and would not return. The 6-9 forward landed awkwardly, resulting in his knee buckling in toward his body.
“My knee went inside and I feel it kind of stretch inside my knee,” said Batum. “It’s going to be okay. I can’t really put weight on it… but I just did it. We’ll see tomorrow, see the next couple of days.”
X-rays on Batum’s knee came back negative, though he said it’s possible he’ll have an MRI to check for ligament damage when the team gets to Dallas. Though he wasn’t certain about his status for Wednesday’s game, he said he thought it was likely that he’d sit out Portland’s final game of the regular season.
As for McCollum, he sprained his left ankle with just 11 seconds to play in the first half.