Mavericks ending long home stretch against weirdly good Portland Trail Blazers

The Dallas Mavericks have been pretty bad to start the season, which was predictable given the current state of the point guard rotation and Anthony Davis getting hurt. They're 2-7 at home this year, including 0-3 in this recent stretch of consecutive home games. They end that stretch against the Portland Trail Blazers, who have been weirdly good despite head coach Chauncey Billups being arrested by the FBI due to illegal poker games tied to the mafia.

It's been a weird year.

Dallas is coming off a double overtime loss to the LA Clippers, who got their first win of November. Naji Marshall had a great game, D'Angelo Russell had a great fourth quarter to help get the game to overtime (also had 7 turnovers in the game, so...), but the story was the lack of opportunity for Cooper Flagg. He had a good game with 16 points on 8/13 shooting. The issue is that he only took 13 shots in 47 minutes of a double overtime game.

It's starting to feel a lot like Luka Doncic's rookie year, where he's surrounded by veterans who don't always want to get talented young rookies involved. Flagg is getting more and more comfortable in every game in which he doesn't have to play point guard, but only getting 13 shots in 47 minutes when D'Angelo Russell is taking 24 is kind of crazy. Like many things, that needs to change.

Nov 14, 2025; Dallas, Texas, USA; Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd and forward Cooper Flagg (32) look on during the second quarter against the LA Clippers in an NBA Cup game at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Meanwhile, Portland has definitely been one of the nice surprises of the year. Former San Antonio Spurs center Tiago Splitter has stepped in as the interim coach while Chauncey Billups goes through his legal troubles, and they've gotten wins over the Denver Nuggets AND Oklahoma City Thunder. They've also mixed in a strange loss to the LA Clippers and are just 1-3 on their current road trip, which concludes with this game against the Mavs.

Deni Avdija is playing at an All-Star level, averaging a ridiculous 25.8 PPG, 6.6 RPG, and 4.6 APG. Shaedon Sharpe also looks like he's taken a jump up, as he's averaging 20.9 PPG despite not shooting well from three. Jrue Holiday is also on this team, so be thankful that Nico Harrison is no longer the Mavs' GM, as he may have traded Cooper Flagg for him if given more time.