If the Mavericks are to make the playoffs, they certainly won’t back their way in. Dallas lost 10 of 12 games in March to slide down the standings, but a five-game winning streak vaulted them back into the top-eight. They face a challenging schedule to finish the season, but appear to be up to it.
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LOOK AHEAD
The Mavericks nipped the Rockets 88-86 on Wednesday, keeping their slim lead for a playoff spot in the Western Conference. They finish the season with three games in four nights, starting with Sunday’s matinee against the Clippers. Then there’s a huge game Monday in Utah, another team battling for one of the final spots in the conference. Dallas ends the season with a home contest against San Antonio and will probably catch a break with the Spurs likely resting their regulars for the playoffs. The Mavs don’t have that luxury, which is why the upcoming stretch could take its toll on a team already down some key elements.
Dallas is playing its best ball when it matters most. The win over Houston was the Mavs’ fifth straight, which came after they lost 10 of 12 to put their postseason chances in serious jeopardy. If they have to crawl into the playoffs, they will. It’s part of a style change, as coach Rick Carlisle likes to call it. The Mavs held another opponent under 90 points and it’s been part defense and part pace, with the Mavs slowing things down considerably since point guard Deron Williams was sidelined with a sports hernia. The new approach may just get them in the playoffs.
INJURIES
Williams hasn’t played since Mar. 23 while dealing with a sports hernia and Carlisle doesn’t think he’s close to a return. Williams tried playing through the injury, but the more he played the worse it got. There’s a good chance that he misses the remainder of the season. The team is already without Chandler Parsons, who underwent knee surgery and is out for the rest of the regular season.
Clippers forward Jeff Green fell hard after a knee-to-knee hit late in the third quarter of Wednesday’s game with the Lakers and didn’t return. He is day-to-day moving forward.
KEY MATCHUP
It might have been too much to expect that Blake Griffin would be able to hit the reset button and quickly become a dominating presence again. After all, he did miss more than three months due to quad and hand injuries, as well as a suspension. Adrenaline may have fueled his performance in his first game back, but reality set in Tuesday and it became apparent just how far off he still is from anything near peak form. But with a few more games under his belt, Griffin is ready to prove to his teammates that he can run with them in the postseason. Gradually rounding into game-shape, Griffin played the most minutes and scored the most points Wednesday since his return, posting a stat line of 13 points, eight rebounds and three assists while sinking 5 of 10 shots. Not Griffin-like numbers, but not too shabby for a guy that just missed 46 games. With the postseason looming, expect Griffin to crank it up and the Mavs are just standing in his way.
ANALYSIS AND ODDS PREDICTION
The Clippers are locked into the fourth slot in the Western Conference and nothing they do from here on out is going to change that. It would seemingly be a good time for coach Doc Rivers to get his regulars some rest, but there is a problem with that. Griffin just returned to the lineup last week and needs to run. Rivers would like him to run with the first unit to build some continuity in the guys who will be playing major minutes in the postseason; a conundrum indeed for the Clippers coach. Most of the regulars got a blow in the back-to-back victories over the Lakers, so Rivers doesn’t have to worry about fatigue. He does need to be concerned with Dallas’ slow-down style, which the Mavs will try to employ. However it won’t work against the Clips and Griffin will be a big reason why.
Los Angeles 103, Dallas 91
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