Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Portland Trail Blazers (17-12) at Dallas Mavericks (20-8)
If the role players for the Dallas Mavericks have learned anything in the wake of Dirk Nowitzki suffering a deeply lacerated elbow injury last Friday night, it's be prepared because your number can be called at any point and time.
After Tim Thomas' 22-point effort while starting for Nowitzki in a 102-95 win over Cleveland on Sunday night, that point was reaffirmed.
"Injuries are a part of this league," point guard Jason Kidd said after the team's Tuesday morning shootaround. "More than anything, (role players) have to be professionals and ready at any time because they can be called on."
Someone else may be called on Tuesday night as the Mavericks host the Portland Trail Blazers. Dallas' depth may once again play a big role with Nowitzki's status for the game still unclear.
"(Nowitzki) is doing better but it's going to be a game-time decision," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "If there's no infection and everything checks out, it will probably be up to him. But we'll know more tonight."
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
Bottling up Roy tops Dallas' to-do list
After proving that they are more than just a one-man team against Cleveland, the Southwest Division-leading Mavericks are preparing to win their second straight without their leading-scorer. Enter perhaps the perfect opponent, as the Mavericks have won the last 11 meetings with the Blazers in Dallas. The Mavs have taken 18 of the last 20 games with the team from the Northwest Division.
The key to Dallas running their winning streak against Portland at home to 12 will be stopping swingman Brandon Roy. The versatile guard is one of the upper-echelon stars in the league, though he is not as heralded.
"(Roy) is a great player, though he may not be quite up there with LeBron James or Dwyane Wade," Kidd said. "But as we've seen, he can take over a game in the fourth quarter like he did in Miami."
Roy nailed three 3-pointers in the last 4 1/2 minutes of a 102-95 road win against the Heat on Sunday. The All-Star scored 28 points on the night.
"We're going to have to have a lot of different guys ready to guard (Roy). We're going to have to have our team defense geared towards containing him, because one guy can't do it -- you just simply can't. He's a perennial All-Star player, he's a perennial All-NBA guy and he's a great guy in crunch time."
Portland has been decimated by injuries, mainly to the former No. 1 overall draft pick, the 7-foot Greg Oden, and to Trail Blazers coach Nate McMillian.
McMillian had surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right foot after participating in practice to give his injury-plagued team 10 men for five-on-five scrimmages.
The Blazers will be without Oden (fractured patella) for the remainder of the season and without reserve Nicolas Batum (shoulder) for most of the year.
"If you look at their situation, they were so banged up that the coach had to practice, and then he went down," Carlisle said.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
LaMarcus Aldridge is a versatile big man
"(The Oden injury) takes a dominate, athletic center out of the equation. But they make up for it with (Joel Przybilla), who is one of the best defensive centers in the league. And then they can slide (LaMarcus Aldridge) up to the five, which causes matchup problems. Aldridge is going to be an All-Star in this league, we all know that."
Dallas will try to keep Aldridge and the Roy-led Blazers under wraps in the third game of the Mavs' four-game home stand. It is the first meeting between the two squads this season. The game will air locally on TXA 21, TXA HD and HD NET at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
The Mavericks and the NBA have introduced the official NBA All-Star game ballot, featuring Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Josh Howard, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry. For more on how to vote for your favorite Mavs for the All-Star game, to be held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, visit Mavs.com.
Follow Mavs.com’s Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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