Dallas Mavs vs. LA Clippers Game 1: What to Expect From Star-Studded Playoff Series

The Dallas Mavericks will take on the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs next weekend, and here's everything you need to know before Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving tip things off against Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook.

The 2023-24 NBA regular season has finally come to a close, and here are the playoff series that have already been locked in: Los Angeles Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Phoenix Suns, Milwaukee Bucks vs. Indiana Pacers and Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Orlando Magic.

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, Boston Celtics and New York Knicks have to wait on the results of the Play-In Tournament this week before knowing who they'll face in the first round. The Play-In Tournament will have the following matchups played on Tuesday and Wednesday: New Orleans Pelicans vs. Los Angeles Lakers, Sacramento Kings vs. Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers vs. Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks.

The NBA announced that the Mavs will face the Clippers at Crypto.com Arena next weekend on Sunday, but tip-off time and television information have yet to be determined. The league will likely wait on the results from the Play-In Tournament before finalizing that information.

Regardless, the Mavs know they have a full week to rest up and prepare for the Clippers. It will be the third time in five years that the Mavs have faced the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. Dallas lost both series in 2020 (six games) and 2021 (seven games).

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Although taking down a team that has several future Hall-of-Famers in Kawhi Leonard, James Harden, Paul George and Russell Westbrook will be a tough task, the Mavs are one of the hottest teams in the league heading into the playoffs. Dallas won 16 of its final 17 games when both Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving played. The Mavs posted the league's No. 1 defense during that span as well.

Not only do the Mavs get to benefit from having a week off, but they also know what to prepare for with this current Clippers roster after playing against them three times already. On the flip side of that, the Clippers have not yet faced the post-trade deadline Mavs. The trades for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington have completely transformed the Mavs, minimizing the importance of the Clippers winning the regular-season series 2-1. This new Dallas roster is a completely new animal, confident in the damage it could potentially cause this postseason.

“We know the job isn’t finished and we’re just getting started," Irving said. "We’ve done it in the regular season, that’s good and dandy, but now this is where the grown-ups start to use their IQ, start to use their emotional intelligence, their physical intangibles, and may the best man win.”

The Mavs vs. the Clippers should be an exciting battle on the court, but it could also be an intriguing matchup on the sidelines as well. Despite missing the postseason last year, Mavs head coach Jason Kidd has now posted two 50-win seasons in three years and has also proven that he can coach an elite defense when given players capable of doing what he asks of them. On the other side, Tyronn Lue is an excellent strategist for the Clippers, and he will surely do all he can to make Kidd's Mavs work hard to win this series.

Multiple reports say Kidd is seeking a contract extension this summer, and a deep playoff run could help secure that. Kidd will be going into the final year of his four-year contract he signed in 2021.

One obvious strategy Lue could throw at the Mavs is going small in an attempt to play Gafford and Dereck Lively II off the floor. If that happens, though, Kidd could simply plug in Washington as a small-ball center – a position he played on a handful of occasions with the Charlotte Hornets – to fully utilize his versatility. Any Clippers small-ball lineups could be combatted with a Mavs lineup of Doncic, Irving, Dante Exum, Derrick Jones Jr. and Washington, for example. Maxi Kleber could also be used at the five with Washington at the four, but that would just depend on how small the Clippers go.

Injury-wise, there are more questions on the Clippers' side than on the Mavs' side. For Dallas, the only real question is Lively, who missed the final eight games of the regular season due to knee soreness. However, Lively probably could've come back for one of the final games of the season, but given the unfortunate passing of his mother, Kathy Drysdale, paired with the fact that the Mavs already had the No. 5 seed locked up, there was absolutely no reason for the big man to return to the floor during that time. If we had to take an educated guess, Lively will probably be ready to go for Game 1 next weekend, but he obviously has more important things to take care of for the time being.

As for the Clippers, Leonard missed the last eight games of the regular season with "knee inflammation," and every time a reporter has asked Lue for an update on his star forward, the answers have been somewhat deflective. Leonard has a history of being secretive with his injury information, so although this could just be him resting up for another intense playoff series trying to guard Doncic, there's always the chance that there could be more to this injury. We should know more as we get closer to next weekend.

The revamped Mavs are more than capable of defeating the Clippers whether Leonard plays or not, but his health could determine just how long this series goes. Dallas knows all too well what a fully-healthy Leonard is capable of doing in a playoff setting.

Mavs fans might be used to seeing the Clippers in the playoffs, but there are still many exciting "firsts" that come with this series – most importantly, Doncic and Irving playing together in the postseason for the first time ever. The dynamic duo combined for 59.5 of the Mavs' 117.9 points per game average. Both players enjoy performing when the lights are brightest in the fourth quarter, as the Mavs posted a 23-9 record in clutch games this season.

Get your popcorn ready, because Doncic, Irving and the rest of the Mavs are ready to start their postseason run in Hollywood, and their hoping the results of this first-round series against the Clippers are blockbuster-film worthy.