Blazers-Mavericks meet up in first round of playoffs

[Betfair]

The Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks are set for the opening game of their Western Conference first round series Saturday night

At the time of this writing, the board is Portland Trail Blazers +5.5 (1.94, -106) and Dallas Mavericks -5.5 (2.04, +104)

Portland split the season series, 2-2, with Dallas during the 2010-11 regular season and all four games were decided by eight points or less. The Trail Blazers are a sixth seed and have been on the rise the last few seasons and finished the year with an 11-5 record since mid-March. "I think we do a great job with the guys we have in versatility," said Gerald Wallace. "So instead of matching up with other teams, we put the pressure on them to try to match up with us." Forward LaMarcus Aldridge is a match up nightmare and has averaged 21.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season. He led the Blazers in scoring in the series with 27.8 points per game, which was his fifth-highest average against any opponent this season. Portland is 65-58 in road games and is currently an underdog on the NBA lines page.

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