Why the Mavericks will defeat the Clippers in the NBA Playoffs of 2024

In the NBA playoffs, the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Clippers will face each other in the opening round. There is no shortage of star power in Los Angeles, but the Mavs are up for the battle. But in the postseason, the Clippers have had success playing the Mavericks. In the first round of the playoffs in both the 2019–20 and 2020–21 seasons, Los Angeles triumphed over Dallas. In six games in 2019–20, the Clippers handled business, but in 2020–21, the Mavs made things interesting. Still, Los Angeles won seven games to advance.

The traditional saying "defense wins championships" is true in many cases. Finding any sort of consistency on the defensive end of the court is essential in today's scoring-heavy league. The addition of Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington before the trade deadline gave Dallas' defense fresh energy after it had struggled to start the 2023–24 season.