After a long (82-game) regular season schedule, the NBA playoffs begin this weekend with four games on Saturday and four on Sunday, featuring a compelling Western Conference matchup of the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers meeting the No. 5 seed Dallas Mavericks in a best-of-seven series.
Only one game separated them in the final standings as the Clippers go into the postseason 51-31 and the Mavericks 50-32. They will open at crypto.com arena in the Clippers’ last season at their shared home with the Los Angeles Lakers, before moving to the Inglewood, California, Intuit Dome next season.
Six-time NBA All-Star and two-time NBA Finals MVP forward Kawhi Leonard led the Clippers in scoring with 23.7 points per game in 68 games. Nine-time NBA All-Star forward Paul George was second with 22.6 points in 73 appearances.
L.A. made a big splash when they acquired 10-time NBA All-Star guard James Harden from the Philadelphia 76ers on October 31. After an initial adjustment period, losing six in a row after his acquisition, they went 14-2 over their next 16 games. The turnaround came after head coach Tyronn Lue shuffled the lineup, moving future Hall of Fame guard Russell Westbrook to the role of sixth-man. Harden was fifth in the NBA in assists this season at 8.5 as the Clippers’ primary facilitator.
As for the Mavericks, five-time NBA All-Star guard Luka Doncic, guided by head coach Jason Kidd, led the NBA in scoring, averaging 33.9 points per game while dishing out 9.8 assists—was good for third in the league—and grabbing 9.2 rebounds a game in 70 games. Kyrie Irving, himself an eight-time NBA All-Star guard, averaged 25.6 points per game in 58 games, making the pair arguably the most dangerous offensive backcourt in the league.
The Mavericks improved as a collective when they acquired forward P.J. Washington from the Charlotte Hornets and center Daniel Gafford from the Washington Wizards as complementary pieces to Doncic and Irving. Dallas had a seven-game winning streak in March and a five-game winning streak in April.
The Clippers have 47 combined All-Star selections versus the Mavericks. While superior offense will be on display throughout the series, since both teams ranked in the top 12 of scoring with Dallas at No. 7 and the Clippers No. 12, defensive stops at critical moments of games may decide the outcome. The Clippers were 10th in opponents’ points per game (112.3), but the Mavs were in the lower third at 115.6, which was 20th. The Clippers won two of three against the Mavericks this season, but the teams last faced each other in December. As of AmNews press time, the other Western Conference first-round pairing was the No. 3 seed Minnesota Timberwolves taking on the No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns.
