The Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers will meet for the third and last time in this regular season, each looking to get the lead in the head-to-head series after splitting the past two meetings.
Catch this game live on Thursday, March 18, at 9:30 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Dallas Mavericks (20-18, 10-9 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Josh Richardson
- PF: Maxi Kleber
- PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
- C: Kristaps Porzingis
The Mavs have lost two of their last three games, with losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder (116-108) on the road on March 12 and to the Clippers (109-99) last Tuesday at home. The Mavericks lost to LA despite Dallas going bonkers from deep, hitting 17 of 41 3-point shots.
The Mavs are shooting the lights out from downtown of late, as they have knocked down 15.8 3-pointers on 39.1% accuracy over their last four games, but they waste all of that by putting out a pathetic show on the defensive end, where opponents have shot 43.6% from deep over the stretch. The Mavericks losing to the Clippers recently should be a wake-up call for Dallas’ wings like Dorian Finney-Smith, Josh Richardson, and Tim Hardaway Jr. after LA shot 43.8% (14/32) from behind the arc. Dallas is certainly capable of slowing down the Clippers.
After all, the Mavs held LA down to only 34.2 FG% in a 124-73 demolition job of Paul George and company back in December in Tinseltown. The Mavs are 5-0 against the spread in their last five games after failing to cover in the previous contest.
ROAD TEAM: LA Clippers (26-15, 13-9 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Reggie Jackson
- SG: Paul George
- SF: Marcus Morris Sr.
- SF: Kawhi Leonard
- C: Serge Ibaka
Ivica Zubac balled out in the Clippers road win over the Mavs last Tuesday, as he recorded a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds in a spot start, with Serge Ibaka out due to a back issue. Zubac could be sliding back into a bench role this Thursday, though, as Ibaka is trending towards a return to action.
In any case, the Clippers must be ecstatic over the fact that they managed to outrebound Dallas, 46-33, in that game despite not having Ibaka around. While the Clippers are only 26th in the league in total rebounds per game (50.6), they are fifth overall with a 79.7 DREB%. That has a lot to do with their deliberate style of play (24th in PACE), which fits right into Dallas’ tempo.
The Clippers and Mavs have an almost identical speed of play, but the Clippers are simply more efficient offensively. They are averaging 117.0 points per possession, while Dallas is making just 114.1. The Clippers have also covered the spread in nine of their last 12 meetings with Dallas.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread:
With Serge Ibaka expected back and the Clippers now have Paul George and Kawhi Leonard both active against Dallas unlike in the December game, the Clippers should be able to come away with a win and cover the -3 on the road.
Over/Under:
As mentioned earlier, both the Mavs and the Clippers play slow, so we are expecting the total (227.0) to go Under. The total has hit the Under in these two teams’ last three meetings.
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