The Portland Trail Blazers make the last stop of their five-game road trip tonight against the Mavericks in Dallas looking for some closure. After an ugly loss in Houston Friday night, they have dropped
three of their last four games and are looking to finish the trip on a positive note.
Fans of the Mavs finally got the closure they’ve been seeking since the shocking trade that sent Luka Doncic from the Mavericks to the Los Angeles Lakers in February. General Manager Nico Harrison, the man responsible for the trade, was fired on Tuesday, ending a tumultuous chapter for the franchise.
It has been a stunning fall for the Mavericks, who bear little semblance of the team that made the NBA Finals in 2024. They sit in 14th place in the deep, highly-competitive Western Conference where there has been no shortage of drama this season. In California alone, the Sacramento Kings looked at their roster and thought, “We could really use Russell Westbrook.” The Los Angeles Clippers are being investigated by the NBA for potentially circumventing the salary cap to funnel additional money to Kawhi Leonard.
Elsewhere, the New Orleans Pelicans traded their 2026 first round draft pick, started the season 2-10, lost Zion Williamson to another injury, and fired coach Willie Green. The Memphis Grizzlies suspended Ja Morant for basically quitting mid-game and calling out his coach in his post-game comments.
One team even had its coach indicted for allegedly conspiring with the mafia to rig poker games. It still feels crazy to write that.
And yet somehow, despite all of that, the biggest mess in the Western Conference was in Dallas. Fans were in open revolt against management, spending more energy jeering their now-former General Manager than cheering for their own players. The “Fire Nico” chants were deafening and Mavericks players reportedly preferred to play games on the road to avoid the distractions.
Will Harisson’s dismissal heal all of the wounds? It’s too early to tell. But the good news for the Mavericks is that they can now focus on basketball and look to the future. The bad news for the Mavericks is that the actual basketball games aren’t going very well for them in the present.
They enter Sunday night’s game with the 4th-ranked defense in the league. We’re told that “defense wins championships,” but even an elite defense can’t overcome an anemic offense. Out of 30 teams, Dallas is 29th in offensive rating (points per 100 possessions), 27th in total points per game, last in three-pointers per game, and 29th in three-point percentage.
When teams aren’t knocking down outside shots, they’ll often try to find other ways to get easy baskets. The Mavericks struggle to do that, too. They are 28th in second chance points and 20th in points off turnovers.
If ever there was a game to get the Blazers defense back on track, it’s tonight against the Mavericks.
What you need to Know
Portland Trail Blazers (6-6) vs. Dallas Mavericks (3-10) – Sun. Nov 16th – 4:30pm Pacific
How to watch via antenna or cable: See your options on the Rip City Television Network.
How to watch via streaming: KATU and BlazerVision in Oregon and Washington; League Pass everywhere else
How to listen: Rip City Radio 620AM
Trail Blazers Injuries: Scoot Henderson, Damian Lillard, Matisse Thybulle, Blake Wesley (out), Jrue Holiday (questionable).
Mavericks Injuries: Kyrie Irving, Dante Exum (out), Anthony Davis (doubtful), P.J. Washington (probable).
SB Nation Affiliate: Mavs Moneyball
What to Watch For:
Resilience. The Blazers are a disappointing 1-3 on their current road trip and just held a players-only meeting after their blowout loss in Houston. How will they respond on Sunday night? Will we see inspired performances from veteran leaders like Jrue Holiday and Jerami Grant?
Defensive Intensity. In their first seven games, the Blazers averaged just over 12 steals per game, recording double-digit steals in each of those contests. Since then, they are taking the ball away from their opponents only six times per game and have slid from first all the way down to ninth in the category. Their overall defensive ranking has tumbled to 20th in the league. Can they right the ship against a struggling Dallas offense?
Flagg Day. Blazers fans will get to see 2025 number 1 overall draft pick Cooper Flagg for the first time. Dallas coach Jason Kidd started Flagg at point guard for the first seven games of the season, but has recently moved him back to his more natural forward position. He is the youngest player in the NBA, but is already making significant contributions and showing signs of stardom with averages of 15.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.
Long Distance Shooting. The Blazers (24th) and Mavericks (29th) both rank near the bottom of the league in 3-point field goal percentage. But only one team employs one of the greatest long-distance shooters of all time. After a brutal start to the season, Klay Thompson has shown signs of life, knocking down a combined 10 three-pointers (on 26 attempts!) in his past two games. The Blazers will need to limit his open looks.
What Others are Saying:
Jack Nowicki at SB Nation affiliate Mavs Moneyball is ready to break up this version of the team, a sentiment shared by many Mavs fans:
Now that new leadership has taken over, we could see a drastic change in this roster.
So, what should they do?
To me the answer is very obvious: a fire sale.
Jasmyn Wimbish at CBS Sports discusses rookie Cooper Flagg’s start:
But having Flagg run point to begin with seems like a massive ask this early in his career, especially when the results have been this poor to start out. He’s never played point guard in his life, and while it may help him down the line, to throw him into the fire immediately instead of playing to his strengths seems like an ill-fated plan.
Joe Freeman of The Oregonian wrote about the Blazers’ players-only meeting after Friday night’s loss in Houston:
The fast-paced Blazers offense was stuck in neutral, managing a measly nine fast-break points and coughing up 20 turnovers — which led to a whopping 30 Houston points. And the Blazers’ usually stout defense was perhaps even worse, allowing Houston to corral 20 offensive rebounds, shoot 50% from the field, sprint away with 23 fast-break points and build a lead as large as 30 points.
But the meeting was less about the grim statistics and more about the odd vibes.
For the first time this season, the Blazers say, something was off.
