The Clippers head into this game against the Dallas Mavericks with a bit of momentum with their largest winning streak since the All-Star Break. The Clips are chasing down the Jazz for home court, keeping the stakes high tonight.
The race for the higher fourth seed is a toss-up at the moment. With the Jazz leading by only half a game, we are being set up for a crucial situation this Saturday. Los Angeles will host Utah for what seems to be foreshadowing of a probable first round match up. The team will hopefully enter Saturday’s game with an even larger winning streak.
The Mavs’ are fading away, coming off a blowout loss against the Warriors as the Curry brothers dueled it out. Ironically Seth Curry, Stephen Curry’s younger brother, has been shooting better than Steph since the All-Star break. This happened mainly due to Steph’s shooting slump, which he started to get over, while torching the Mavs’ in their own stadium.
Dallas is struggling, and a bit fatigued having lost four of their last six. The Mavericks have been good at home, especially recently with a (20-16) overall home record. The Clips are also above .500, with a (20-18) road record. Dallas particularly has difficulty handling teams with winning road records like the Clippers. Additionally, LA has not had much difficulty winning as visitors, even against teams with a winning home record.
The Dallas Mavericks are now 3.5 games out of the 8th and last playoff spot. With only 12 games remaining, time is running out. Dallas has not lost three consecutive home games all season. Ideally, this is not the time to start a home losing streak, so the Mavs will go all out tonight.
Although the Clippers are on a winning streak, it came against lowly competition. They have three straight wins against the Lakers, Knicks, and a resting Cavaliers team, which is not so impressive. However, wins are wins at the end of the day, and it could not come at a better time.
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Blake Griffin is pleased with the teams defensive communication. Blake stated,
"“Defensively our trust has never been higher, but just our talk has been at times phenomenal.”"
This is great news as the Clips’ looks to be back in top form.
The Clippers have won the last two games in Dallas, a team they match up well against, with overpowering athleticism. They will not have a problem keeping the pedal to the metal, as they look to extend this winning streak. Tonight’s result will depend on which Clippers’ team shows up tonight as the Mavs’ try and avoid another home loss.
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