There is still plenty that has to be decided during the final weekend of the NBA regular season. Playoff seeding and matchups still need to fall into place for teams in both conferences, and the weekend slate will prove to be important for nearly half the teams in the league. But the first-round fate for two teams has already been decided, as the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers are locked in to play one another in a best-of-7 series starting next week.
Mavericks Will Play Clippers In Round 1
The Clippers and Mavericks will meet in the first round for the third time in 5 years 🍿
Los Angeles is 2-0 all-time in playoff series against Dallas.
Who ya got winning this series? pic.twitter.com/skNldxFoQW
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 11, 2024
The Clippers have appeared to be destined for the 4th seed for much of the season thus far. They’ve been one of the more consistent teams in the West in 2023-24, but have been a tier below the top-3 that has been in control of the conference throughout the year. They have 51 wins on the season with just two games left to play, and their opponents for the final contests are the Jazz and Rockets.
It is the Mavericks who have made the late season surge in order to guarantee a postseason matchup between the two sides. Dallas has been the hottest team in the NBA over the last two months, having won 16 of their last 18 games in order to shoot up the standings. They eclipsed the 50-win mark themselves on Wednesday night, and a firmly planted in the 5th spot, with the 6th place Pelicans being 2.5 game back.
Teams Will Meet For Third Time In Five Years
.@PaulPierce34 has the Mavericks beating the Clippers in 1st Round:
“We’re watching the best scoring duo in NBA history with Luka & Kyrie.” pic.twitter.com/vmCc39uKoD
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) April 11, 2024
The two sides are familiar with one another. The Mavericks played against the Clippers in two straight years in the postseason, back in 2020 and 2021, and it was Los Angeles who came up victorious in both of those meetings. But this is a different Dallas team and appears to be the most talented version of themselves that we’ve seen, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see Luka Dončić and company as the overall favorites for the series.
Dallas and Los Angeles met three times during the regular season, with the Clippers finishing with the upper hand by a 2-1 margin. As it stands today, the Clippers will be the home team for the matchup, though there is an outside chance that the Mavericks make a leap frog and wind up in the 4th spot when all is said and done.
The Mavericks will finish out the season by playing against the Pistons and Thunder.
Add Sportslens to your Google News Feed!
