The LA Clippers will face the Mavericks for the fourth and final time this season, looking to even the season series at two a-piece.
With only four games remaining in the season, the Clippers will welcome the Dallas Mavericks to Staples Center Wednesday evening. The Clippers (47-31) will be fighting for a win, in order to keep up for home-court advantage. The Mavericks (32-45), having already been eliminated from the playoffs, virtually have nothing to fight for. However, winning two of three games on the season, don’t automatically chalk this up as a win for Doc Rivers’ ball club.
Let’s start with the Mavericks. They will be short-handed, as Dirk Nowitzki, Seth Curry, Wesley Matthews, and J.J. Barea all are listed as out. That’s roughly 52 points that the Mavericks will be missing out on. Considering those are three of their top four scorers, they are going to have to find ways to scatter points together.
Next, we have the Clippers. Winners of seven of their last nine, they look like they are slowly finding rhythm and getting hot at the right time. Also, considering that those two losses were by a combined three points, being games they truly should have won, we have nothing to worry about.
It’s hard to believe that the Clippers have fallen short to the Mavericks twice this year, but it’s not that shocking when you realize both of those losses came by a combined four points. On the season they’ve actually outscored the Mavericks by 16 points.
First Match-up
Let’s take a look at the first game, in which the Clippers won 124-104. In that game, the Clippers were just simply the better team overall. They shot a better field goal percentage, knocked down more threes, grabbed more rebounds, you get the picture.
What really stood out were the points off turnovers, where the Clippers scored 25, compared to the Mavs’ 14. The Clippers were also running and getting ahead, scoring 23 fast break points. The bench also scored a whopping 65 points.
Second Match-up
One of the more painful losses of the season, the Clippers fell on a Harrison Barnes game-winner with three seconds remaining. Giving the Mavericks their ninth win of the season, at the time it was (and still might be) the Clippers’ worst loss of the season. Not having Blake Griffin or Chris Paul is a valid excuse, but at the time, it was the Mavericks third road win of the entire season.
The Clippers actually shot better from the field and from three, and were only out-rebounded by four, but what ultimately lost the game for them were points off turnovers, and second chance opportunities. Only scoring one basket in the final three-and-a-half minutes was crucial, too.
With 20 turnovers on the evening, the Mavericks were able to turn those into 20 points, averaging a point per turnover. The Clippers, on the other hand, only managed to score six points off of Mavericks turnovers. Dallas also managed to grab 14 offensive rebounds, giving them plenty of second chance opportunities for points.
Third Match-up
The LA Clippers had many chances to win this game, but ultimately fell short on every opportunity. The Mavericks overall won every category, aside from rebounds, where the Clips managed to grab 17 more boards. Both teams were nearly identical from the field, from three, and from the line.
What really lost this game for the Clippers was their play in the first and third quarters. The Mavericks jumped out to a five point lead after one, but the Clippers immediately responded, getting out to a six point lead at halftime. However, the Clips would find themselves down two at the end of the third, and ultimately losing by two as the final result.
If J.J. Redick makes that corner three as time expires, I wouldn’t be finding ways to figure out how they lost this game, but sadly, he did.
Fourth and Final Match-up
With four of their best players out, I expect this to be an easy one for the Clippers. Key word: expect. As we’ve seen, the Clippers have dropped many winnable games this year, and shouldn’t be in the position they find themselves in now. Since you never know with these guys, here are my keys to securing a victory.
- Limit Second Chance Opportunities – The Mavericks are dead last in the NBA in offensive rebounding, averaging less than eight per game. However, they are averaging a little less than ten per game against the Clippers this season. With Nerlens Noel being the only real threat on the boards, Blake & DJ need to do what they can to prevent second chance points.
- Get an early lead– With most of their starters out, it will be tough for the Mavericks bench to essentially keep up with the Clippers all game. Aside from Harrison Barnes, the Mavs are going to be desperately looking for points. Get to em early, and don’t look back.
This is a win the LA Clippers desperately need, especially if they want to keep up for home-court. With a fairly easy schedule the remainder of the way, this is a game the Clips absolutely cannot over look. They need to come out and treat this as if it were a playoff game and take care of business.
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