Pressure on Blazers in Game 2 Against Mavericks

COMMENTARY | The second Portland-Dallas playoff game is Tuesday night, and it could be a crucial game for both sides. This match-up pits two teams against each other that split their regular season series, and it's almost a given that this series will not be a sweep.

The Mavericks won Game 1 Saturday , holding serve in an 89-81 win down in Dallas. An impressive showing from Jason Kidd ended up dooming the Portland Trail Blazers, who are looking to recover in the second game to try to tie up the series. Game 3 will be back in Portland Thursday. Dallas knows it needs to hold onto home court advantage.

Both teams need their star players to come up big, with Dirk Nowitzki and LaMarcus Aldridge expected to duplicate their performances from Game 1. The pair will likely fill up the stat sheet again Tuesday, but the winner of this game isn't going to come down to the winner of Nowitzki vs. Aldridge.

Portland has to get more output from their starting five on offense, and can't have another game where starting shooting guard Wesley Matthews only ends up with two points. A big game from Gerald Wallace could help overcome bad shooting nights from other players, but he will also have to do well on the defensive end to help the transition game for the Blazers.

The Blazers also have to do better from three point range, and one of the keys to a win for them will be shooting better than 40 percent from long distance. If the Blazers can get past the 100 point mark, they should have Game 2 in the bag.

Dallas needs to simply duplicate its efforts from Game 1. Getting offense from Jason Kidd can be supplanted by more points from Jason Terry, but their team game was good enough to make the difference in the first match. If the Mavericks can get 15 to 20 points from Shawn Marion as well, then this might turn into a really one-sided game.

Game 2 of the Portland vs. Dallas series takes place Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. PT. The live broadcast will be on TNT, and it is certainly going to be an exciting chapter in this match-up. It wouldn't be a stretch to state that the team which wins this game will win the series, with Portland looking to get back home with a split and Dallas trying to go up 2-0.

More From YCN:

Game_1_Recap

References:

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