Portland Trail Blazers vs Dallas Mavericks Injury Report

The Portland Trail Blazers will be taking on Dallas without the Mavs having their superstars on the floor.

Dec 3, 2024; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving (11) celebrates with Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers are still trying to make a run to the playoffs. In order to do so, they have to start stacking up wins. Right now, they are on a five-game road trip. They are a very respectable 2-2 so far, getting wins over the Bucks and the Pelicans.

They finish off their road trip with a game against the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas is one of the most dangerous teams in the league because of their offense. They made the NBA Finals a year ago because of the dangerous duo of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

Doncic and Irving are two of the best offensive players in the history of the NBA. They both have an amazing ability to make tough shots. Irving is one of the best hard-shot makers in the history of the league. Doncic has the ability to make everything look smooth when he has the ball in his hands as well.

Portland doesn't have anyone on their roster who can defend either one of them. They are not a very good defensive team in general, having some small guards in their starting backcourt. That doesn't bode well trying to defend either one of these elite offensive players.

The Trail Blazers are getting some luck as they finish their road trip. Neither Doncic nor Irving will be available for this game. They are both listed as out on the injury report. Doncic will miss the game due to a left calf strain. Irving is out due to a lumbar back sprain.

This is a huge break for a Blazers team that needs to stack up wins quickly if they don't want their season to fall apart. Winning this game has now become a must for them. They have to take advantage of the fact that Dallas is missing their top two players.

Portland knows what it means to have players out due to injury. They have had to deal with injuries all season long. The difference for them is that they don't have a star on the level of either of these players on their roster. They hope Scoot Henderson can eventually be that, but he isn't yet.

If the Blazers can finish this road trip off with a win, that would give them a big morale boost heading into their next stretch of games before the trade deadline.

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