DALLAS — Luka Doncic spoke to the media following the Dallas Mavericks' practice on Tuesday. Doncic addressed a number of topics, including having Kyrie Irving as a teammate and Mavericks fans' impact on the team. With Dallas preparing to play the Los Angeles Clippers in the postseason, Luka was also asked about Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.
“Amazing players, man,” Doncic said of Leonard and George. “Those two, they play well together. Everybody knows what they can do offensively and defensively. I say every game is going to be tough. Those two guys are amazing players and it's going to be tough to stop them.”
The Clippers stars will lead the way. Of course, James Harden and Russell Westbrook feature superstar ceilings as well. Los Angeles features a fairly balanced roster with depth, so the Clippers will present a challenge for the Mavs.
Stars will shine in series
Luka Doncic, Kyrie Irving, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard are four of the best players in the NBA right now. As mentioned earlier, James Harden and Russell Westbrook will impact matters as well.
Both teams are hoping to enter the series with healthy rosters. Leonard, though, has been battling an injury concern. His status will be worth closely monitoring ahead of the first game of the series on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the stars will lead the way for both teams. Dallas and Los Angeles will need their depth to step up as well, but we should expect some big performances from the best players on the floor.
For the Mavericks, Doncic has already demonstrated poise in the postseason at a young age. He led the Mavs to the Western Conference Finals at just 23 years old, so he's going to be prepared for this series without question.
Irving, meanwhile, played a pivotal role in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2016 championship run. He has no shortage of playoff experience either.
Mavericks prepared for Clippers challenge
Dallas is prepared for the series. On Tuesday, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd mentioned the Clippers stars, but also acknowledged that Los Angeles' defense is one of their strengths as well.
“When you talk about the playoffs, it tends to slow down, for us we don't want it to slow down. We got to continue to keep playing with that pace,” Kidd said. “Using our depth, using that to our advantage. That's something that has helped us this season and that's something that we got to lean on in this series. Being able to keep the pace up, being able to run. Not letting their defense get set.
“They are very good on the defensive end, they got great hands, they're going to swipe. They come up with a lot of steals… The group that we're playing against, the Clippers, their basketball IQ is extremely high… So we have to take care of the ball. But we do want to get out and run.”
Defense will be the X-factor in this series. The Mavericks had one of the better defenses in the NBA during the second half of the regular season. As Kidd noted, the Clippers are more than capable of causing havoc on the defensive end of the floor.
All eyes will be on the stars, but whichever team takes care of business on defense may end up winning the series.
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