The Dallas Mavericks need a little miracle to avoid the first round against the LA Clippers. In the series, the Texans are behind with 2-3, and Kristaps Porzingis will definitely be missing. There is hope that Luka Doncic is completely fit again.
The Mavs will fight for survival in the playoffs in game 6 from 9.30 p.m. tonight – and with DAZN you will be there live! Get your free trial month now.
It feels like an eternity since the Dallas Mavericks lost by a whopping 43 points on Wednesday night. After a previously balanced series, the Clippers really flexed their muscles for the first time in game 5 and cemented their status as title candidates.
Paul George finally blossomed, Kawhi Leonard showed again that he cannot be stopped by the Mavs and the rest of the team also hit the open litters. If the Clippers present themselves again like this, the Mavs won’t get anything, especially not without Kristaps Porzingis, who tore a meniscus in Game 1 and will be absent for the rest of the series.
On the flip side, the Clippers won’t get 154 points again, hit 63 percent from a distance, and convert a total of 22 threesomes. It was just one of those days as it can happen, even in a fifth game in the NBA playoffs.
Luka Doncic before Game 6: “His ankle is fine”
Luka Doncic did not have his best evening on the Mavs side either, the ankle clearly caused problems for the Slovenian. The four-day break should have helped the star of the Mavs, without a gala for their number 77, Dallas will see little sun in game 6.
The break more or less suited the Mavs. “His ankle is fine,” Carlisle said at a press conference on Saturday. “He looked really good in practice today and I think he won’t be limited tomorrow.”
So Doncic is fit again, but there were other names on the Texans’ injury report. Including Tim Hardaway Jr. (strain), Dorian Finney-Smith (hip strain) and Trey Burke (ankle strain), they are all questionable, but will probably be ready for action.
But what are the keys to the Mavs in Game 6? Here are a few pointers:
The obvious at the beginning: The defense of the Mavs is not suitable for the playoff. The Texans allow 122.9 points per 100 possession of the ball on average in the five games, only Denver is worse in the postseason. To put that into perspective: During the regular season, the Cleveland Cavaliers (114.8) were the worst defensive team in the league, but of course they didn’t play against the Clippers 65 times either. By the way, last postseason the Detroit Pistons were the worst defense. They took 120.5 points for every 100 possession of the ball against the Bucks in four games.
The threesome has to fall, otherwise Dallas without Porzingis will lack weapons. With three hits per game, the Latvian is the best shooter in this series so far after Hardaway. Incidentally, Doncic also hits 34.3 percent. The most promising candidate for an increase is Maxi Kleber, who has only sunk three of his 20 triples so far. That can be done better, after all it was 37.3 percent in the regular season.
On the other hand, it must also be mentioned that the German national player wears himself out in defense against the incumbent finals MVP. No Mavs player has had to guard Kawhi Leonard any longer. The results were mixed, even if Kleber lets the forward work for his points. The claw hits against Kleber “only” 48 percent from the field (25/52 FG), over the series it is a total of 56.3 percent against all other Mavs defenders (31/55 FG).