The Dallas Mavericks (17-10) host the Los Angeles Clippers (16-12) again, this time on Saturday night. The Clippers beat the pants off Dallas on Thursday night, pulling away in the third and fourth quarters. The Mavericks were without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in that game though, so with one of the two suiting up, hopefully Dallas plays a bit better. Then again, the defense was the main issue on Thursday. Here’s the main things to know:
- WHO: Dallas Mavericks vs Los Angeles Clippers
- WHAT: Playing the Clippers, again
- WHERE: American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas
- WHEN: 7:30 p.m. CST
- HOW: WFAA, Channel 29, and MavsTV as well as Playback with Kirk, Matthew, and David
On the injury front, Luka Doncic is missing his second straight game with the heel contusion suffered against the Warriors. Kyrie Irving is off the report entirely. Jaden Hardy is still out with the ankle sprain. The Clippers are without the same guys: Kawhi Leonard, Terance Mann, and Kobe Brown.
The Mavericks need to tighten up their defense. The Clippers shot the ball well from three, but Dallas got diced by James Harden and Zubac on the pick-and-roll. Dallas must do a better job staying connected to Zubac and not fouling him if he establishes good position. This will likely be a tough game for the Dallas bigs but they’re capable of playing better than they did Thursday…