The Dallas Mavericks will be one player down tonight when they face the Trail Blazers

DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks will be one player down tonight when they face the Trail Blazers in the opening game of their best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series.

Guard Rodrigue Beaubois, who sprained his left foot in the second quarter of the Mavericks’ regular season finale against the New Orleans Hornets, will not play tonight against the Blazers. His status for the rest of the series is unclear.

“He is not available at this time,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said following the Mavericks’ shootaround Saturday morning. “But he’s getting better.”

Beaubois’ spot as the Mavericks’ starting shooting guard had been tenuous for several games leading up to the playoffs and DeShawn Stephenson finally replaced him against the Hornets. Stevenson is more of an emotional wild card than Beaubois, but he is bigger and regarded as a better defender.

But while the Mavericks gain an edge defensively, they also lose an offensive weapon. Beaubois played well against the Blazers during two regular season meetings, averaging 17.0 points and 4.0 assists per game.