Are the Mavericks Better than the Blazers?
Thursday, November 06, 2014
Tip-off: 7:30PM
TV: TNT
Vegas Odds: Portland -2 1/2
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Portland finished five games better than Dallas last season, but the Mavericks are getting more respect from bookmakers and media.
So, should the Blazers take it personal?
If they're aren't already, they will.
As it stands, Portland and Dallas appear poised to battle over playoff positioning down the stretch. Oddsmakers have the teams near neck-and-neck in win totals, predicting 49 wins for the Blazers and 49 1/2-to-50 for the Mavs.
Dallas, however, are given significantly better odds at winning the NBA title. Las Vegas is taking bets on Dallas as 20-to-1 underdogs, with the Blazers at 30-to-1.
In a way it makes sense. Dallas have a star player and a head coach who won it all in 2011. But Dirk Nowitzki, at 36, is agining, as is Dallas' recently returned, supposed defensive savior, Tyson Chandler, 32.
Nowitzki, for his part, seems ready to adjust his game with humility and grace, and as ace sharpshooter he can remain potent.
"I'm there to space the floor," Nowitzki recently told ESPN Dallas' Tim MacMahon. "I get occasional post-ups here and there, but I feel like I don't have to grind that much."
As a defender more reliant on banging physicality, Chandler's effectiveness--and health--are less assured.
I suppose where one values Dallas--whether they really are fringe title contenders--depends more on their opinion of Chandler Parsons, the small forward Dallas snatched from Houston this summer.
(Blazers fans, who watched Portland jettison Chandler's former team from the playoffs last season, may not be so moved.)
Comparing and contrasting Dallas and Portland becomes fraught, as strange dualities emerge. Portland pairs youth and continuity against Dallas' experience and re-tooled roster.
As such, the preeminent team is difficult to predict using superlatives.
Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.
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