NBA’s most compelling matchup No. 2: LA Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks
The best matchup between Western Conference teams in a potential 1-16 seeding playoffs would definitely be the LA Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks. I’m not sure what chance the Mavs would actually have to win the series and advance to the second round, but I’ll take all the Luka Doncic vs. Kawhi Leonard and Paul George that we would get.
Doncic emerged as one of the top 10 players in the NBA this season and was nearly averaging a triple-double. He might not have a ton of help to offset the talent of what the Clippers would be trotting out, but I’d be interested to see how the perception of him would change after his first playoff series.
Could Kawhi and George limit him? Could they shut him down in a seven-game series? Who would win the coaching battle between Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle? There are so many different elements of this matchup that would be increasingly enticing.
Los Angeles probably emerges, and possibly fairly quickly, but this would be touted as one of the best matchups in the first round.