Kawhi Leonard returned to the line-up in Game 3, but the Clippers laid an egg at home and we now have ourselves a series. In what was one of their lowest scoring games of the year, the Clippers managed just 93 points, 15 of them came from Leonard who seemed to run out of gas late. That’s understandable for a player who just came back from an injury that kept him out for almost 3 weeks. As time goes on Kawhi will only get better, until then the Clippers have to find a way to stay afloat in this series. Winning at Dallas won’t be an easy task, but they’ve already done it once in the regular season. So far in the 2 games of this series I’ve been impressed the most by their center Ivica Zubac who has posted a double-double in both games.
Losing Daniel Gafford was a big blow for the Mavs in Game 2, they’re already thin at the center position. The good news is head coach Jason Kidd shortened the rotation, gave more minutes to P.J. Washington and it’s paid off. However, Game 3 will be a lot more difficult as the Mavs now have to confirm home court advantage after stealing it in the previous game. Luka Doncic is yet to shoot 50% from the field in the series, playing in front of the home crowd might improve his numbers a bit, if Leonard isn’t at 100% the Clippers simply don’t have an answer for him. Dallas is a 4.5-point favorite for Game 3, they went 25-16 at home this season and are currently on a run of 14 covers in 18 games vs West coast opponents.
