The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks are set to tip off Game 1 of their first round matchup on Monday night. The matchup will feature Kawhi Leonard and Paul George leading the way for LA while Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis lead the way for Dallas.
In their three-game regular season series, the Clippers won all three matchups by an average of 11 points per game. Leonard averaged 31 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game for LA. Doncic averaged 29 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 7.0 assists per game for Dallas.
Does Dallas have what it takes to push or even beat the Clippers in a seven-game series? In short, no. Here are three reasons why the Clippers will handle the Mavs, likely with relative ease, and move on the second round of the playoffs.
3. Mavs Playoff Inexperience
This was probably the best playoff matchup for the Clippers because of the inexperience on Dallas' side alone. The Mavs' core of Luke Doncic, Kristaps Porzingis, Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell, and Dorian Finney-Smith hasn't played a single playoff game. The only two with experience who are expected to play significant roles in the series are Tim Hardaway Jr. and Seth Curry. Hardaway Jr. has 17 games of playoff experience during his time with the Atlanta Hawks and Curry has 16 games of playoff experience during his time with last year's Portland Trail Blazers team that reached the Western Conference Finals.
The only other player with playoff experience in Dwight Powell has been lost for the season due to a torn Achilles, which he suffered in the January meeting between the Clippers and Mavs.
One member of the Mavs not mentioned so far is Rick Carlisle. The Mavericks' head coach is a winner of the 2011 championship and one of the league's best minds at the head coaching position.
Meanwhile, the Clippers have loads of playoff experience on their team. Kawhi Leonard is a winner of two NBA Championships and is a two-time NBA Finals MVP. He's played 111 games in the playoffs. Paul George has played in 76 playoff games, including multiple conference finals appearances. Joakim Noah has played in 60, Lou Williams has played in 58, Reggie Jackson has played in 38, Patrick Beverley has played in 34, Marcus Morris has played in 32, and JaMychal Green has played in 21.
Oh, and they also have a championship head coach in Doc Rivers.
Playoff experience will ultimately be a factor in a series, especially for a team as young as Dallas that will have no fans or home court advantage to lift them at any point in this series.
2. Plethora of Defensive Weapons
The Clippers may not have had a great defensive season as a team, and most of that can be attributed to injuries and the lack of continuity among key players. With everyone back and healthy, it's safe to expect a different looking team in the playoffs.
We'll probably see a lot of Kawhi Leonard on Luka Doncic, but the Clippers will also put Paul George, Patrick Beverley, and possibly Marcus Morris on him as well.
The biggest thing to watch will be how the Clippers defend the pick-and-roll involving Luka Doncic as the ball-handler. Doncic creates so much havoc in the PnR that the Clippers might blitz Doncic and make anyone else beat them.
In their third matchup, the Clippers switched everything, which led to more than a few open looks for Dallas from beyond the arc. It's hard to imagine them switching as much in the playoffs, but maybe they'll mix things up.
The x-factor for Dallas will be Kristaps Porzingis. In three matchups vs. LA, Porzingis averaged 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds on 34.7 percent shooting from the field and 30.4 percent from beyond the arc. It appears that inside the bubble, however, Porzingis' comfortability with his new team seems to have reached a new level.
Porzingis finished the bubble fourth in scoring, averaging 30.5 points and 9.5 rebounds on 47.6 percent shooting from the field and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. He could certainly create some problems for the Clippers in this series, and no one knows that better than Kawhi Leonard.
Yeah, you know, he's, what, 7-foot-2, can shoot the ball, can dribble, make plays out of the post, even from that three-point line by dribble-driving. You've just got to keep a high hand up and try to challenge his shots. He's very skilled.”
1. Playoff Kawhi Leonard
Kawhi Leonard has shown that he can take his game to another level in the postseason, and if we get the same playoff Kawhi as last year, Dallas doesn't stand a chance.
Leonard averaged 30.5 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 49 percent shooting from the field during the 2019 playoffs, which included 14 30-point games. For a player who had a lot of question marks coming into the season, Leonard delivered, and then some.
Add in the attention that Paul George, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, as well as the other Clippers will command, and Leonard could be in for an efficient, high-scoring series.
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