Tomorrow’s clash is between two teams who are currently struggling during the season restart. On one side are the Clippers, who lost on opening night against the Lakers, beat the Pelicans, and then fell to the Suns thanks to a Devin Booker buzzer-beater.
In the other corner stand the Mavericks, who lost a late lead against the Rockets, were also downed by the Suns, and barely scraped by against the 0-3 Sacramento Kings.
Kawhi Leonard and Paul George will form a tag team to try and slow down Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Who will be the star of this marquee matchup? Catch the game live on Friday at 6:30 am (Manila time).
HOME TEAM: Dallas Mavericks (41-29, 19-16 at home)
How do you say triple-double in Slovenian? Luka Doncic notched a cool trip-dub in the Mavericks’ 114-110 win against the Sacramento Kings last Wednesday. Using the Kings’ defense as his canvas, Doncic painted a masterpiece consisting of 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists.
He got help from Kristaps Porzingis, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds, and Tim Hardaway’s 22-point output. In three games inside the Orlando bubble, Doncic has played like an MVP, averaging 34.0 points, 11.0 assists, and 13.7 rebounds in that stretch.
Despite Doncic’s monster efforts, the Mavs are just 1-2 in Orlando, a record which could’ve been better if Dallas played better in the clutch or chose better shots. The Mavs have fallen in love with their 3-point shot lately and the result hasn’t been rosy.
They are shooting just 29.8% from the 3-point area since the resumption of the season. Dallas simply needs a gentle tap on the shoulder to remind the team to be more patient on offense. That being said, the Mavs are still a top 10 team this season in terms of 3-point accuracy (36.6%).
ROAD TEAM: LA Clippers (45-22, 19-14 on the road)
The Clippers know what Doncic can do. And when they meet Dallas this Friday, expect the Clippers to throw numerous defensive patterns at the do-it-all Mavericks sophomore.
The Clippers have the luxury of having two of the league’s perimeter defenders in Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, and the team won’t shy away from putting those players on Doncic. When the Clippers defeated Dallas last November, 114-99, they held Doncic to only 22 points on a salty 4-for-14 shooting from the field and 0-for-8 tries from behind the arc.
Doncic had more success in the next meeting, scoring 36 points (12-26 FG, 3-12 3FG) last January, but the Clippers still prevailed, 110-107, despite George sitting out that game due to a hamstring issue. After getting burned by Devin Booker in their 117-115 loss last Wednesday, the Clippers must be feeling itchy to vent their frustrations and play much better defensively against Dallas, which shot just 40.6 FG% in the last two showdowns with LA.
PREDICTIONS:
Luka Doncic has been playing so well yet Dallas is below .500 in the Orlando bubble. The Mavericks ultra-reliance on Doncic could be exposed again by the Clippers, who will win this game, 115-112.
