Mavs vs. Blazers GAMEDAY: Will Dame Lillard Play?

The Dallas Mavericks and Portland Trail Blazers meet in what will be a battle of two severely undermanned NBA playoff hopefuls. Is this a must-win game for the Mavs?

In a battle of two severely-undermanned Western Conference Playoff hopefuls, the Dallas Mavericks play the Trail Blazers in Portland on Monday night. The Mavs look to stop a two-game skid, falling to two games under .500 for the first time this season. Dallas will again be piecing together their squad with six players out due to COVID health and safety protocols, including star Luka Doncic and Tim Hardaway. 

The Mavericks are 3-8 without Doncic this season and fresh off a hard-fought 120-116 loss at Utah on Christmas. The Mavericks look to improve their shooting from beyond-the-arc, going 10-of-30 from 3-point range on Friday.

Portland will be without seven players due to COVID health and safety protocols, the newest entries on Sunday being Jusuf Nurkic and Cody Zeller. Star Damian Lillard has been on fire lately; In the last five games, averaging 33.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 6.8 assists. However, Lillard is questionable for Monday's game for personal reasons. CJ McCollum (collapsed lung) has missed eight games but is expected to be reevaluated this week.

The Blazers have had five days off after their Thursday game vs. the Brooklyn Nets was postponed. 

This will also be the first meeting between Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, both longtime NBA players. 

INJURY REPORT: Mavs: Reggie Bullock (health and safety protocols) is out; Trey Burke (health and safety protocols) is out; Willie Cauley-Stein (personal reasons) is out; Luka Dončić (health and safety protocols) is out; Tim Hardaway Jr. (health and safety protocols) is out; Maxi Kleber (health and safety protocols) is out; JaQuori McLaughlin (health and safety protocols) is out.

Blazers: Lillard: questionable (personal reasons), Ben McLemore: out (health and safety protocols), Cody Zeller: out (health and safety protocols), Jusuf Nurkic out (health and safety protocols), Trendon Watford: out (health and safety protocols), CJ McCollum: out (lung), Robert Covington: out (health and safety protocols), Keljin Blevins: out (health and safety protocols), Dennis Smith Jr.: out (health and safety protocols).

RECORDS: DALLAS MAVERICKS (15-17) at PORTLAND TRAIL BLAZERS (13-19)

WHEN: Monday, December 27, 2021 at 9:00 p.m. CT

LOCATION: Moda Center (Portland, OR)

TV/RADIO: BSSW, 97.1 The Eagle (KEGL)

ODDS: The Mavs are 1.5-point underdogs vs. the Blazers.

DID YOU KNOW? Mavericks general manger and president of basketball operations Nico Harrison attended Tigard High School (Portland suburb). Harrison joined the Mavs after spending 19 years as VP of North America basketball operations at Nike, which is headquartered in nearby Beaverton.

NEXT: The Mavs continue their road trip with two games in Sacramento against the Kings. 

LAST WORD: Jalen Brunson, who has stepped up with Doncic out:

“It’s kind of hard to tell where we can be with pieces moving in and out. I think we have great personnel, high-character guys who want to win. We just got to put that together and be healthy and whole.”