Dallas Mavs Near Los Angeles Clippers Playoffs Matchup; Favorable Title Path?

The Dallas Mavericks are close to locking in their spot as the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference, which would put them up against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. Luka Doncic and the rest of the crew might just land on the most favorable side of the West bracket when it comes to their path to a title.

After pulling off an unreal 22-point comeback victory over the Houston Rockets in overtime on Sunday, the Dallas Mavericks now sit at 48-30 with just four games remainnig in the regular season. Dallas will finish out the season by facing the Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder.

As things currently stand in the Western Conference standings, the Mavs have sole possession of the No. 5 seed with a two-game cushion over the No. 6 seed Phoenix Suns and No. 7 seed New Orleans Pelicans. However, since the Mavs own the tiebreakers over both of those teams, that means they essentially have a three-game lead with four games remaining.

So, with all that being said, there is a very high chance that the Mavs officially end up as the No. 5 seed, meaning they would face the No. 4 seed Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. It would be Dallas' third playoffs matchup with the Clippers in the last five years.

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Although the idea of playing against Kawhi Leonard in the playoffs can be scary, the fact of the matter is that he might not be healthy going into the postseason, as he's missed the last four games due to "knee inflammation." Plus, the Clippers haven't faced this current version of the Mavs that has won 14 of 16 games while having the league's No. 1 defense during that span.

If the Mavs do end up facing the Clippers and ultimately defeat them, it will be interesting to see how the rest of the West bracket plays out. If Dallas is in the No. 5 slot and advances, than means it would play the No. 1 or No. 8 seed in the second round. As of right now, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets are deadlocked at 54-24 for the No. 1 seed in the West, but Minnesota has the tiebreaker and currently occupies the top spot.

If the Wolves can hold on and secure the No. 1 seed, that would likely be Dallas' most favorable path to the Western Conference Finals, if not the NBA Finals. The Mavs are able to compete with any teams in the West, but avoiding the Nuggets for as long as possible would likely be preferred.

Regardless, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are both playing at MVP levels, and the additions of Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington continue to propel this Mavs' roster to new heights with each passing game. There is still some clean-up work to do for Dallas, but the team is playing its best basketball at the perfect time of the season, and that's a recipe for a successful run in the playoffs.