The Portland Trail Blazers and Dallas Mavericks cap the first day of the 2011 NBA playoffs on Saturday as they hit the court at 6:30 p.m. for game one. With a late-surge, Portland secured the No. 6 seed in the Western Conference, avoiding the Los Angeles Lakers in the opening round. Instead, the Blazers drew the Dallas Mavericks, a team they split the season series with, dropping the first two games and winning the final two.
Schedule: The Blazers and Mavericks get started at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Game two is Tuesday at 6:30 p.m., game three is Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and game four is next Saturday at 2 p.m. The rest of the schedule can be found over at Blazers Edge.
Preview and breakdown: Blazers Edge also put together an extensive preview of the series, comparing team statistics to form an opinion of how the series may go. On the offensive end, the following quote stood out.
Dallas will have the advantage if the game is pretty and contact-free. Portland will have the advantage if it gets gritty and depends on brute force. The onus is on the Blazers to force the Mavericks out of their game because Portland won't come close to winning in a straight-up shooting contest
I highly suggest heading over and checking out their statistical breakdown and matchup breakdown.
TV coverage: Game one will be shown on ESPN, live at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday. Games two, three and four will each be broadcast on TNT.
More information and coverage: For everything Blazers, head on over to SB Nation's Blazers Edge. For more on the Mavs, check out Mavs Moneyball. For live coverage throughout, visit SB Nation's NBA hub.
Check back with our NBA playoffs StoryStream for more on the games, including schedules for Saturday's matchup.