Trail Blazers News: Wesley Matthews Says It's Portland's Time To Prove They're "Elite"

In advance of the Portland Trail Blazers' Western Conference showdown with the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night, Blazers guard Wesley Matthews appeared to say what a lot of his teammates have been thinking.

"Dallas has beaten us (in recent years), Houston has beaten us, so it's time for us to prove we're one of the elite teams and we have a chance to do that going into the All-Star break," Matthews said, via ESPN.com.

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The Blazers have righted the ship somewhat, winning two straight against the Utah Jazz and Phoenix Suns after eight of ten before that. Both of those victories came with big man Robin Lopez back in the lineup after he had missed six weeks with a broken right hand.

"It's a huge difference," guard Wesley Matthews said of Lopez and his 22 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks' worth of production since returning. "Offensively, defensively, he's that staple in the middle."

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