Oh, how the tables have turned… For years the Mavericks were a representation of consistent success in the NBA, while the Clippers only made the playoffs once from 1997-2011. Now the Clippers have won 60% of their games each of the last five seasons, and are on pace to have the best record in franchise history, and the Mavericks are…well, 2-11…
To put it lightly, the team with the best record in basketball is playing the team with the worst record. Look more closely and this matchup between the Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Clippers draws intrigue in unlikely places.
What to Watch For:
The Mavericks have a hard time scoring points and the Clippers make it hard for their opponents to score. The Clippers are rolling, according to Basketball-Reference they are 2nd in Offensive Rating and 1st in Defensive Rating[note]Needless to say they’re going to be highly ranked in the next 90% Club Rankings[/note]. On the other hand, the Mavericks have the 30th ranked Offensive Rating and (somehow) the 10th ranked Defensive Rating.
The Clippers two known areas of weakness are sending their opponents to the free throw line (Clippers opponents shoot 23.7 free throws per game, 23rd in the League) and allowing their opponents to hit threes (Clippers opponents have shot 36% from three, 25th in the League). The Mavericks are actually the 9th best free throw shooting team in the NBA so far this season (shooting 79%) but are only attempting 18 free throws per game as a team (30th). Beyond the arc the Mavericks have been atrocious, they attempt 29.3 threes per game but only connect on 31% of those attempts (30th). However, the Mavericks do have a few capable three point shooters (Curry, Matthews, Barnes, Gibson, Nowitzki) that could get hot at any given moment[note]That moment just hasn’t happened so far this season…[/note] and defy those numbers.
Key Matchups:
Harrison Barnes vs Luc Mbah a Moute
Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut are expected to play tonight, so we can assume Harrison Barnes will slide back into the 3-spot (small forward) and be matched up against Mbah a Moute. The Clippers have been auditioning 3s (small forwards) for years and apparently Luc hasn’t deterred their success so far this season. While Barnes may start back in the 3-Spot he should still spend some time at the 4 (power forward) where he may be matched up against Blake Griffin.
????? vs Blake Griffin
Griffin is quietly having another incredible season:
| Pts/G | Rebs/G | Ast/G | Stl/G | PER | On/Off | |
| Griffin | 21.9 | 9.3 | 4.4 | 1.3 | 26.4 | +27.3 |
His combination of counting stats (Pts/G, Reb/G, Ast/G, Stl/G) has only been accomplished by 14 other players over the course of a full season and there is no one on the Mavericks that matchups up well with Blake.
Seth Curry vs Chris Paul
Young-up-and-coming point guard versus established-All-Star-All-NBA point guard could go several different ways. The most likely scenario is that Seth Curry struggles mightily as Chris Paul is one of the best defensive point guards in the League. As a Maverick, Curry hasn’t faced a point guard (maybe Mike Conley) that will make it as tough to score and make plays as CP3 will tonight.
Mark Cuban vs Steve Balmer
MFFLs vs The Center Who Shall Not Be Named
This is where the intrigue comes into play. Emoji-Gate was just a year and a half ago. The Center Who Shall Not Be Named made a verbal agreement with the Mavericks before getting cold feet and being convinced by his entire team that he should come back to LA and resign with the Clippers. This saga had all the makings of a TV Sitcom Breakup story, and it’s been written about over and over and over again.
On the show How I Met Your Mother, there’s an Episode called “Wait For It” where Ted and Robin (classic on-again-off-again-will-they-won’t-they relationship) have been broken up for a little while and Robin has just returned from a vacation in Argentina.[note]It’s way more complicated than that but that’s they idea[/note] Robin brought back a souvenir in the shape of Enrique Iglesias (Gael) who Ted thinks is just a rebound boyfriend in an attempt to “win the breakup.” Over the course of the episode, Ted tries to prove that Robin hasn’t moved on as fast as she seemed to and that she’s just trying to “win the breakup” until Robin admits something that helps Ted get over everything real quick.
“Robin: Over it?! My first three days in Argentina, I cried my eyes out. I missed you so much. I wanted to go and prove how adventurous I am, but the truth is it was really lonely. And that’s why Gael happened.
Ted: You weren’t trying to win the breakup?
Robin: I was trying to survive it.”
It was fun for the first year to “boo” the Clippers Center, tell him everything he is missing out on, and try to prove that the Mavericks can win the breakup. But a year and a half later all the Mavs can try to do is survive it. The Clippers are riding high with the best record in the League and the Mavs are just trying to field a complete team of NBA players.
Injury Report:[note]As of 12pm Game Day[/note]
Dallas Mavericks
Devin Harris: Out (Toe)
JJ Barea: Out (Calf)
Deron Williams: Out (Calf)
Dirk Nowitzki: Expected to Play (Achilles)
Andrew Bogut: Expected to Play (Calf)
Los Angeles Clippers
Brice Johnson: Out (Back)
Game Info:
GAME DAY! Mavs vs Clippers at home TONIGHT!
📍: @AACenter
🚪: 6PM CT
🏀: 7:30PM CT
📺: @FoxSportsSW
📻: @1033ESPN
TIX: https://t.co/LQ1ByZLPEC pic.twitter.com/4VpU2vMRJx— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) November 23, 2016
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