Following a closer than it needed to be 120-118 victory over the Atlanta Hawks, the Dallas Mavericks (38-39, 9th in the Western Conference) head out to Tinseltown to square off with the Los Angeles Clippers (44-32, 7th in the Western Conference). This is the third of four meetings between the two teams. Interestingly enough, the first two meetings also happened as a baseball style series in Dallas, with the teams splitting those meetings in late December.
If you can believe it, as this feels like it was lifetimes ago, the Mavs faced off against these Clippers in the first game in the Toilet Bowl’s Intuit Dome history during the preseason. Ah, the simpler times. If only we knew back then what we knew now! However, now is not the time to look back, as we’ve got two games to play in 24 hours. Here’s a few things to know.
Davis’ delicate dispersion
Fresh off his best game as a Maverick, Anthony Davis arrives into this contest with a bit more momentum at his back. However, given the fact that he is so talented, why does Davis not have more of these explosive games? Better yet, how do we end up with so many clunkers? Well, AD is no longer the spry young center that he once was and he’s lost maybe a half step. However, that half step is a big difference in getting all the way to the rim or settling for 18-footers.
Per the guru’s at NBA.com, AD in 2019-20 (his first season with the Los Angeles Lakers) took just 48% of his shots on the floor from 10 feet and out. This year? That number is up to over half of his shots at 53%. He’s much more jumper reliant than he used to be, so naturally he’s going to be prone to variance. Davis is shooting just 39.7% from the floor this season on shots outside of 5 feet, compared to 70% inside of 5 feet. In order to be his best self on a consistent basis, Davis is going to have to get inside more often.
Containing Kawhi and Harden
The Mavs will have their work cut out for them in containing the Clippers tandem on the outside. Dallas will have PJ Washington back to throw at one of the pair, presumably Kawhi Leonard. However, that leaves Harden with one of Spencer Dinwiddie or Klay Thompson. Neither of them are regarded as great defenders at this point in their careers, so there will be a lot of pressure on the Mavs’ bigs to both contain Ivica Zubac and cut off drives from up top.
Who plays?
This is the front end of a back-to-back and with the Mavericks balancing a lot of guys on minutes limits and injuries, it will be interesting to see who plays in which game. So far for Friday night’s tilt, Dereck Lively is out while Anthony Davis is questionable. If both miss, the Mavericks will be forced to go small once again with Daniel Gafford and Dwight Powell as their only available bigs.
How to watch
This 9:30p CT tipoff from the Intuit Dome will be available on KFAA Channel 29 or Mavs TV here locally. If you’re in Los Angeles, try to sneak in and join the legion of fans standing at “The Wall”.
