[b]Game 1: Dallas Mavericks vs. LA Clippers, 9:00 ET, ESPN[/b]
Doubt the Mavs get that many calls per game even if LA is slapping at everything.
- Dallas (115.9) and LA (113.3) ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, in offensive efficiency this season. Dallas’ mark was the highest since 1996-97 and the Clippers’ was 11th.
- During the seeding games, Luka Doncic ranked sixth in scoring (30.0 PPG), eighth in rebounding (10.1 RPG) and second in assists (9.7 APG), just falling shy of averaging a 30-point triple-double during the restart.
- The Mavericks and Clippers were the only two teams to have teammates finish in the top 10 in scoring during the seeding games: Dallas’ Kristaps Porzingis (30.5, T-4th) and Luka Doncic (30.0, 6th) and LA’s Kawhi Leonard (28.8, 7th) and Paul George (10th). This will be the playoff debut for both Doncic and Porzingis, while the LA duo has played a combined 187 career playoff games.
- Dallas led all teams with an average of 29.9 free throws attempted during the seeding games with Luka Doncic (10.1 FTA) and Kristaps Porzingis (9.2) ranking second and sixth, respectively, on an individual basis. Prior to the hiatus, it was LA that led the league with 26.2 FTA per game, while Dallas ranked 15th at 23.1.
- As John Schuhmann notes, the Clippers were 12.7 points per 100 possessions better with Kawhi Leonard on the floor (plus-12.2) than they were with him off the floor (minus-0.5) this season. In the season series against Dallas, the Clippers outscored the Mavs by 38 points in 103 minutes with Leonard on the floor, while Dallas was a plus-5 in 41 minutes with Leonard off the floor.
Doubt the Mavs get that many calls per game even if LA is slapping at everything.