What 2 Watch 4 - Trail Blazers Vs. Mavericks

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Terry Stotts vs. Rick Carlisle

Eleven straight wins. Thirteen victories overall – tied for the most in November in team history. And a spot atop the Northwest Division. It’s no wonder the NBA recognized Portland Head Coach Terry Stotts with its Western Conference Coach of the Month honors. The award was certainly well earned for the second-year Trail Blazers leader, and he joined Dr. Jack Ramsay, Mike Schuler, Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy and Nate McMillan as Portland’s only coaches to receive such acclaim. Tonight, Coach Stotts faces a tough yet familiar face on the other bench. When Dallas Head Coach Rick Carlisle led the Mavericks to an unbelievable title run in 2011, Portland’s very own head coach was on the Dallas sidelines as an assistant. Stotts no doubt learned plenty during his four years with the Mavericks under Carlisle, who in his first 10 seasons as head coach with Dallas, Indiana and Detroit, missed the playoffs only once. The Mavericks have not finished with a losing record since Carlisle arrived in 2008, and if early returns mean anything – they won 12 of their first 20 games – Dallas isn’t headed in that direction this season, either.

Terry Stotts

• Named NBA Western Conference Coach of the Month for November
• Led Portland to 13 wins in November, tied for the most in the month in franchise history
• Became Head Coach of the Trail Blazers at the start of the 2012-13 season after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach with the Mavericks

Rick Carlisle

• Has won more than 60% of his games as Head Coach of the Mavericks (251-163 record)
• Led his team to the playoffs in nine of his first 10 NBA seasons as a head coach, including winning the 2011 NBA Championship with Dallas
• Served as an assistant coach with Portland under Head Coach P.J. Carlesimo from 1994-97