LA Clippers: Comparing Leonard/George to Doncic/Porzingis

The LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks will meet again in the NBA Playoffs this year, just like they did last year.

The Clips come in as the fourth seed, and the Mavs step in as the fifth seed in the West.

The Clippers have certainly been the better team than the Mavericks this year, and come in with five more wins (47) than the Mavericks. Dallas, however, is still no easy task.

Both teams have two of the top duos in the league. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George can create problems for anybody when on the floor together, and Mavericks guard Luka Doncic and Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis bring plenty to the table as well.

Doncic came into the season as an MVP favorite, and while he hasn’t necessarily quite lived up to that exact hype, he’s still one of the league’s top stars. The dynamic Doncic scored 27.7 points per game this season, grabbed eight boards per game, served up 8.6 assists per game, and stole the rock once per game.

He can score in a variety of different ways. Incredible as a shooter, Doncic put up career-highs this year in field goal percentage (47.9%) and three-point field goal percentage (35%).

What’s particularly a bit worrisome, is that Doncic played really well against the Clippers this season.

One night he had a triple-double with an incredible 16 assists to his 25 points and 10 rebounds, and another night he dropped 42 points. In each of his three games vs. the Clips, he had at least 24 points and eight assists.

Porzingis played in two of those games, where he delivered mixed results. In one of the contests, he put up just 11 points, but did secure 13 rebounds and blocked a couple of shots. In the other, he put up 22 points, but only came down with seven rebounds, and only rejected one shot.

When analyzing KP’s season, he’s been very good, but not quite what the Mavericks hoped to get out of him this year. He’s battled some durability issues, and he’s averaging less points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks per game than he was last year.

He can’t be taken lightly though, as he’s still shooting at an incredible .376 clip from behind the three-point line. A big who can shoot like that is a threat.

The Clippers do have what it takes to contain him, though, especially as Serge Ibaka has returned to NBA action. The issue is going to be slowing down Doncic, who as the Clippers remember from last year in the postseason, knows how to rise in big moments.

Doncic played great on both ends of the floor vs. the Clippers in the playoffs last year, dropping 31 points, grabbing 9.8 rebounds, and passing out 8.7 assists per game in the six-game series. He connected on 36.4% of his three-point shots, including his unforgettable buzzer-beater in Game 4 of the series.

The Mavericks will have their hands full with Leonard and George, however. The Clippers’ duo is elite on both ends of the floor. Both players are shooting near 40% from three or better, and put up a combined 48.1 points per game this season.

Those scoring marks could have been much higher as well if it weren’t for the Clippers’ roster having other scoring threats everywhere. Both players know how to serve up opportunities for their teammates, averaging 5.2 assists each.

Paul George doesn’t have the best playoff reputation these days, as he’s been a bit on-and-off at certain times in his playoff career. That only means, however, that he’ll be hungrier than ever to prove his doubters wrong.

Kawhi Leonard has won two NBA Finals MVPs, and is more than proven under the brightest lights. He too, however, is bound to be hungry to bounce back from falling short of playoff expectations last year.

I expect a huge series from both. I also expect Doncic to perform well as always, but the Clippers have the defensive backcourt to contain him. Porzingis is an exceptional basketball player, but trying to return to his best self against a very talented Clippers team could prove tough for the 7’3″ former all-star.

The Mavericks took two of three from the Clippers this year. That trend shouldn’t continue, as the Clippers’ duo is more than capable of handling the Mavs’ duo. Kawhi and PG will get it done.