LA Clippers Dallas Mavericks Game One Preview
The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks will begin their first-round playoff series Monday night. Who takes Game 1?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00 Clippers fans, it's finally here. Later tonight, the number two seed LA Clippers will officially
00:05 begin their NBA title chase and they take on the number seven seeded Dallas Mavericks
00:10 in game one of their first round playoff series. Things are going to look a lot different.
00:14 Obviously the fans can't be there and with that there's no home court advantage in this
00:17 series either. The dynamic of this series could change significantly because of that.
00:22 That said, the on-court intensity should remain the same. When Clippers have played tougher
00:25 teams this season, they've brought the energy time and time again. LA has played particularly
00:30 good basketball against Dallas this year as well, sweeping the season series 3-0,
00:34 including a 15-point victory in the bubble less than two weeks ago. That said, Dallas is a
00:39 historically great offensive team and is far from being the seventh best squad in the Western
00:44 Conference. So without further ado, let's break down what we should expect to see in tonight's
00:48 series opener. Some of the key matchups I've highlighted here, the first being Luka Doncic
00:52 versus LA's defense. Obviously this guy's a star, 21 years old, he's a phenom, averaged close to
00:57 triple-double this season with 30 points, 10 rebounds, and almost 10 assists in the bubble.
01:03 That said, if any team is built to handle a team like, a player like Doncic, it's the LA Clippers
01:09 with top-tier wing defenders in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and one of the league's best
01:14 defensive point guards in Patrick Beverley. LA can throw as many looks as they want to as Doncic
01:19 to stifle him and force him into making bad decisions, taking worse shots. On top of that,
01:25 the Clippers have an elite room protector under the basket and Ibiza's Zubats who will help deter
01:30 Doncic from attacking the paint. He'll certainly still get his, as all great players do, but the
01:35 Clippers aren't going to let him get comfortable. Expect frequent double teams and look for LA to
01:39 force him into the mid-range in awkward three-point attempts. For LA, the key matchup is Kawhi
01:44 Leonard and Paul George versus Dallas' defense. If there's one thing Dallas lacks, it's a player
01:48 that can sled on the game's best wings. Dorian "Fenny" Smith is a plus defender and he's looked
01:53 okay against Kawhi and PG this season, but like Doncic, they've still got theirs. All season long,
01:59 they have played great basketball against Dallas. On the year, Kawhi and PG are combining to average
02:05 56 points per game against the Mavs and that number should only go up in the playoffs as
02:09 each player spends more time on the floor. Ultimately, Dallas' lack of an answer for Leonard
02:14 and George, I think, will be the difference maker in this series. As far as the X-Factors go, for
02:19 Dallas, I think it's Chris "Daps" Porzingis. Like Doncic, he's taken things up a notch in the bubble.
02:23 He's 7'3", which is a big thing that's not changed, but that's just important to say,
02:28 7'3", and he was named the NBA's all-bubble team after averaging 30.5 points and 9.5 rebounds and
02:34 shooting 38% three-point range across those six games in the bubble. The Mavs will need that
02:38 version of Porzingis to show up on a base against the Clippers in this series to have a real shot,
02:42 and for the Mavs, that just hasn't happened this season. He did go for 30 points and 9 boards
02:47 against the Clippers less than two weeks ago in that bubble game, but on this season's series,
02:51 Porzingis averaged 18.3 points with a -17 net rating against LA. Clippers are going to need
02:58 Ibiza's Zubats to play strong and disciplined defense in the paint. Not a lot of fouls,
03:03 right? But they can't rely on him to cover Porzingis on the perimeter. He isn't quick
03:07 enough to get him out there, so Marcus Morris Sr. may be the answer out there. He could also
03:11 throw Kawhi on them on certain sets, but it could take a few games for LA to figure out what works
03:16 and what doesn't if Porzingis continues to play well. For the Clippers, the X-factor is health.
03:20 They have struggled to maintain a healthy roster all year long, as we know, and unfortunately,
03:24 Zeddle will continue to play at the end of the playoffs. As of Sunday afternoon, Patrick Beverley,
03:29 Landry Shammott, and Montrezl Harrell are all considered questionable for Game 1. The
03:33 indication seems to be that at least Harrell will be good to go tonight, but we likely won't know
03:38 the status for Beverley and Shammott until we get closer to tip-off time. LA can take Dallas without
03:43 that trio, but without them, this series could go from being 4 or 5 games to 6 or 7. My prediction
03:50 for tonight's game is that it's going to be competitive for the first three quarters until
03:54 Leonard, George, and Lou Williams blow things up in the fourth quarter, and LA wins 132-115.
04:00 Clippers and Mavis tip off tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. The game will air on ESPN,
04:05 and as usual, Fox Sports Prime TV.