The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks will begin their first-round playoff series tonight. Who will come out on top in Game 1?
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00Clippers fans it's finally here. Later tonight the number two seed LA Clippers
00:05will officially begin their NBA title chase and they take on the number seven
00:08seeded Dallas Mavericks in game one of their first round playoff series. Things
00:13are going to look a lot different. Obviously the fans can't be there and
00:16with that there's no home court advantage in this series either. The
00:19dynamic of this series could change significantly because of that. That said
00:22the on-court intensity should remain the same. When Clippers have played tougher
00:25teams this season they've brought the energy time and time again. LA has played
00:29particularly good basketball against Dallas this year as well, sweeping the
00:32season series 3-0 including a 15-point victory in the bubble less than two
00:37weeks ago. That said Dallas is a historically great offensive team and is
00:41far from being the seventh best squad in the Western Conference. So without
00:45further ado let's break down what we should expect to see in tonight's series
00:48opener. Some of the key matchups I've highlighted here, the first being Luka
00:52Doncic versus LA's defense. Obviously this guy's a star, 21 years old, he's a
00:56phenom, averaged close to triple-double this season with 30 points, 10 rebounds
01:00and almost 10 assists in the bubble. That said if any team is built to handle a
01:06team like a player like Doncic, it's the LA Clippers. With top-tier wing
01:10defenders in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George and one of the league's best
01:14defensive point guards in Patrick Beverley, LA can throw as many looks as
01:18they want to as Doncic to stifle him and force him into making bad decisions,
01:22taking worse shots. On top of that, the Clippers have an elite
01:26room protector under the basket and Ibiza's Zubats who will help deter
01:30Doncic from attacking the paint. He'll certainly still get his, as all great
01:34players do, but the Clippers aren't going to let him get comfortable. Expect
01:37frequent double teams and look for LA to force him into the mid-range in awkward
01:41three-point attempts. For LA, the key matchup is Kawhi Leonard and Paul George
01:45versus Dallas's defense. If there's one thing Dallas lacks, it's a player that can
01:49sled on the game's best wings. Dorian Finney-Smith is a plus defender and he's
01:53looked okay against Kawhi and PG this season, but like Doncic, they still got
01:57theirs. All season long, they have played great basketball against Dallas. On the
02:02year, Kawhi and PG are combining to average 56 points per game against the
02:06Mavs and that number should only go up in the playoffs as each player spends
02:10more time on the floor. Ultimately, Dallas's lack of an answer for Leonard
02:14and George, I think, will be the difference maker in this series. As far
02:18as the X-Factors go, for Dallas, I think it's Kristaps Porzingis. Like Doncic, he's
02:22taking things up a notch in the bubble. He's 7'3", which is a big thing
02:26that's not changed, but that's just important to say. He's 7'3", and he was
02:29named the NBA's all-bubble team after averaging 30.5 points and 9.5 rebounds
02:34and shooting 38% three-point range across those six games in the bubble. The
02:38Mavs will need that version of Porzingis to show up on a base against the
02:40Clippers in this series to have a real shot, and for the Mavs, that just hasn't
02:44happened this season. He did go for 30 points and 9 boards against the Clippers
02:48less than two weeks ago in that bubble game, but on this season's series,
02:51Porzingis averaged 18.3 points with a negative 17 net rating against LA.
02:57Clippers are gonna need Ibiza's Zubats to play strong and disciplined defense
03:01in the paint. Not a lot of fouls, right? But they can't rely on him to cover
03:04Porzingis on the perimeter. He isn't quick enough to get him out there, so
03:08Marcus Morris Sr. may be the answer out there. He could also throw Kawhi on
03:12them on certain sets, but it could take a few games for LA to figure out what
03:15works and what doesn't if Porzingis continues to play well. For the Clippers,
03:19the X-factor is health. They have struggled to maintain a healthy roster
03:22all year long, as we know, and unfortunately, Zettle will continue to play
03:25at the end of the playoffs. As of Sunday afternoon, Patrick Beverley, Landry
03:29Schammett, and Montrezl Harrell are all considered questionable for Game 1. The
03:33indication seems to be that at least Harrell will be good to go tonight, but
03:37we likely won't know the status for Beverley and Schammett till we get closer
03:41to tip-off time. LA can take Dallas without that trio, but without them, this
03:45series could go from being four or five games to six or seven. My prediction for
03:50tonight's game is that it's going to be competitive for the first three quarters
03:53until Leonard, George, and Lou Williams blow things up in the fourth quarter, and
03:57LA wins 132-115. Clippers and Mavericks tip off tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern
04:03Time. The game will air on ESPN and, as usual, Fox Sports Prime Ticket.