Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Dampier may play vs. Blazers tonight

Super screener Erick Dampier could be back tonight with Portland in town. The big fella has missed two of the last three games with a sprained ankle.

“We hope to have big Damp back,” Avery Johnson said today.

Johnson added that the problems on offense, at different points throughout the season, can be traced back to Dampier not being in the lineup.

“Our guys tend to get open when Damp is on the floor,” Johnson said.

Now the bad news. Guys that won’t be in uniform: Josh Howard, Jerry Stackhouse and Devin Harris.

Johnson was asked if he’s bewildered, angry and confused by the play of late. The banged-up Mavs have dropped two straight and four of the last seven.

“If we were totally healthy and going through this same type of inconsistency, I would probably sit in all those chairs that you just named,” he said. “But I know where we are and it’s not the time to get too negative.

“Now I get a little irate with our effort. No matter who’s in uniform, we should hit people, we should get back on defense and on offense we shouldn’t still settle for jumps shots no matter who’s in uniform. We understand we’re fighting an uphill battle right now, that’s a fact, but we still can do something about it. I’m more irate about effort more than anything.”

1 comment:

JW Stringer said...

From http://pregame.com

Portland Trail Blazers Dallas Mavericks (8 PM ET)

Dallas is looking to avoid its first 3-game losing streak in more over 2 months but should be able to rebound at home. The Mavs are coming off back-to-back losses on the road to sub-.500 teams from the Eastern Conference, falling to 12-14 SU & 10-16 ATS away from home this season. They have been much better at home - going 22-3 - tied with Utah for the best home mark in the NBA. EDGE: MAVS

Portland leading scorer Brandon Roy returned to the lineup for the first time in 3 games on Monday but showed some rust and struggled with his shot, making just 5-of-13 from the field and 5-of-10 from the free-throw line in a 95-83 loss. EDGE: MAVS

The Mavs are 22-6 against teams from the West, the best record of any team in the conference. They are 9-1 against the Western Conference since January and have also won 14 of the last 15 meetings with Portland. EDGE: MAVS

Blazers are 1-9 ATS in their last 10 games overall.

Mavs are 2-7-1 ATS in their last 10games overall.

The UNDER 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.