LA Clippers: Have they underestimated the Mavericks?

The LA Clippers might be selling the Dallas Mavericks a little short in their first round best of seven series thus far.

LA’s second basketball team hasn’t exactly given their first round opponent, the Dallas Mavericks, the clipping many expected. At least not yet.

To be fair though, we’ve been awaiting the arrival of the dominant version of the LA Clippers for quite some time now, especially considering their unique blend of excellent coaching, starting-caliber talent and sturdy bench depth.

Through the first four games, the series between Los Angeles and Dallas is tied at two games apiece.

If we’re being frank, the Clippers sure are lucky that it’s all knotted up at this point, because they mostly have not played like the team with the upper hand in this series.

Take game one, for example. The Clippers won 118-110, but if not for Kristaps Porzingis’ questionable late game ejection that night, it’s entirely possible the Mavericks would have secured the victory in the opening game.

Not to mention, Mavericks’ star Luka Doncic, not Kawhi Leonard or Paul George, was the best player on the court in game one with a ridiculous 42 point tally.

As you would expect, the Mavericks sought and successfully attained revenge for the Porzingis incident from the first contest in game two, winning handily by a score of 127-114.

LA bounced back in game three with a 130-122 victory, the only game so far in which the Clippers, who rank among the top teams in the NBA in defensive efficiency, were able to keep Luka Doncic at bay, holding him to a lowly 13 points.

There’s a caveat to that performance too, however, as Doncic was found to have injured his left ankle late in the third quarter, which obviously contributed to his lackluster game.

Had Doncic’s health not been a factor in game three, that matchup could have also swung in the Mavericks’ favor.

So to recap, a player ejection controversy in game one of the series involving one of the Mavs’ top talents and an injury to their superstar in game three have aided the Clippers in keeping the series tied through four games.

In theory, the events of the first three nights could have resulted in the Mavericks taking a commanding three games to none series lead over the powerhouse Clippers, with a chance to oust the latter in sweep fashion.

That outcome, of course, would have constituted a major upset within the entire sports world, let alone just the NBA playoffs.

That brings us to Sunday’s game four.

An exhilarating affair all around, the Clippers somehow managed to surrender what was at one moment, a 21 point lead, consequently allowing the Mavericks back into the game late and ultimately taking it to overtime.

Despite Kawhi Leonard’s 32 points and major contributions from Lou Williams, who put on a scoring clinic in game four with 36 points, the Clippers would fall in OT to the Mavericks by a score of 135-133 after Doncic and his 43 points in the contest once again called game.

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The Mavericks didn’t even have Kristaps Porzingis in game four due to injury, which makes the Clippers’ loss on Sunday that much more inexcusable, even if it took a buzzer beater for them to go down.

A game in which a team leads by 21 has to find a way to win that night, and the Clippers won’t forgive themselves for game four if they lose in this first round series.

Before we get too stuck on their mishaps, we should note that the Clippers are still expected to win this series and move onto the second round. No team with the type of talent LA possesses should ever be doubted.

However, it’s fair to ask if perhaps the Clippers have been resting on their laurels too much through these first four games. Have they overlooked the Mavericks as a legitimate opponent despite their seventh seed ranking and their ability to generate offense?

It doesn’t help that Paul George, typically a renowned playoff performer, has failed to be effective through the first four games of the 2020 postseason. He’s averaging just 17 points a game in these playoffs, a bit below his career playoff mark of 20 and way down from his 28.6 playoff points per game average in 2019.

Still, the Clippers’ roster depth and overall talent level is unmatched in the league, and it’s not as if the team isn’t receiving strong play from starters and bench players alike.

LA has mostly failed to neutralize Luka Doncic, who has subsequently killed the Clippers in games where reffing controversies and injuries didn’t hamper the Mavs’ chances of winning.

That will need to change for the remaining duration of this series if the Clippers are to be successful in holding off the up-start seventh seeders.

Additionally, the Clippers might want to start playing with a little more urgency as the series moves past its halfway point. All of the contests thus far have been relatively close, with the exception of game 2.

LA has the talent to break away and create sizable enough leads in games (as seen in game 4 in particular when the team was up by 21) to the point where Dallas would be unable to mount a furious comeback.

The Mavericks have demonstrated that they’re here to play. The Clippers must act accordingly if they want to survive past the first round.