5. (2) LA Clippers vs. (7) Dallas Mavericks
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis make their playoff debut against reigning finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. This will be a fun battle of coaches as well, Doc Rivers and Rick Carlisle are some of the best this game has to offer in the coaching department.
The Mavs will have their hands full with the Clippers back at full strength. Doncic has struggled in the regular season against the Clippers, only shooting 42 percent from the field, 27 percent from 3-point range and five turnovers a game. The Clippers depth could prove to be too much for Dallas and we could be looking at a quick end to this series.
Good thing for the Mavs is KP is back to looking like his all-star self. He averaged 30.5 points in the eight-game regular season. Both Kristaps and Doncic will have to put up potent offensive numbers to steal a few games, let’s not forget this team had the No.1 offensive rating in the league.
Regardless of how long this series goes, watching one of the best young stars in our league go head to head with two-way stars Leonard and George will be a hell of a show. We didn’t even mention Patrick Beverley antagonizing the opposition.