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The Portland Trail Blazers are coming off back-to-back wins over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Dallas Mavericks just pulled off a win over the Los Angeles Clippers thanks to 42 points from Luka Doncic. These two teams are on a collision course and we could see a ton of offense on Friday night. If you’re not too caught up in the NCAA Tournament, here are some picks for Dallas-Portland.
Mavericks vs. Trail Blazers, 10:00 p.m. ET, NBA TV
Pick ATS: Blazer +3.5
The Blazers are a better team at home and I’m usually going to lean that way if a home team is getting points like this. It’s not a ton of points but I anticipate this game will be close unless some injuries pop up later in the day. Neither side can really contain Doncic or Damian Lillard. The key to me is CJ McCollum. Unless the Blazers rest the guard, who just came back from a foot injury, I think he’ll feel more comfortable in his third game back. CJ struggled Thursday vs. the Pelicans tough backcourt. The Mavs’ don’t have great perimeter defenders.
Over/Under Pick: O228
This is a high total but these are two teams that rank in the top 15 in offensive rating and bottom third in defensive rating. We have two elite scorers in Doncic and Dame — both players capable of going off for 40-plus points. We’ve seen both players do so in the past few games. Both sides are relatively healthy and the fact Tim Hardaway Jr. is starting bodes well for more scoring. The Blazers also don’t have much of an answer for Kristaps Porzingis. My lean is at the over, though the total is a bit scary.s that pl
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