Mavs Step Back: Dallas' Dereck Lively II in For Big Night vs. Depleted Portland Trail Blazers' Frontcourt?

Ahead of the Dallas Mavericks' matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, our Mavs Step Back Podcast makes several betting picks and discusses four interesting trade scenarios for Dallas with the trade deadline two months away.

Dalton Trigg | Dec 8, 2023

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Dallas Mavericks

Following a resounding 50-point beatdown of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks look to tip off the weekend with a win against another injury-plagued team in the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.

Dallas will be without Grant Williams, Josh Green and Maxi Kleber, but the Blazers will be without Jerami Grant (OUT - concussion), Deandre Ayton (DOUBTFUL - knee) and possibly Malcolm Brogdon as well. Without Grant and Ayton, Mavs star rookie Dereck Lively II could be in for a Friday night feast in the paint.

MavsNuggets Game Recap (16) — USA TODAY Sports

On today's episode of the Mavs Step Back Podcast, we make several betting picks for tonight's game, including Luka Doncic's over/under on points, Lively's over/under on points and rebounds, and Kyrie Irving's over/under on turnovers.

Doncic is coming off his second consecutive history-making triple-double after putting up 40 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists against the Jazz. He became the first player in NBA history to have at least 25 points with a triple-double in one half. Can Doncic keep his triple-double magic going? Between his newfound dad strength and headband-wearing powers, you might want to consider putting Mavs-Blazers on your NBA League Pass list tonight.

Kyrie Irving 1-on-1: Return to Mavs Lineup, Luka Doncic Greatness, Season Evaluation

From there, we discuss four Mavs trade ideas: three addressing Dallas' need for more size on the perimeter and one addressing the backup center position. Spoiler alert – Toronto Raptors 3-and-D forward O.G. Anunoby is pegged as being a "dream target" for the Mavs with two months remaining until the NBA trade deadline.

You can watch or listen to this episode below. Also, be sure to subscribe on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and anywhere else you get your podcasts! You can also leave us a review on Apple Podcasts for a chance to win future giveaways.

Published Dec 8, 2023

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.