LA Clippers vs Dallas Mavericks 8/6/20: Starting Lineups, Matchup Preview, Betting Odds

LA Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks Preview

In what could be a potential preview of a first-round playoff matchup the LA Clippers and Dallas Mavericks will play each other Thursday.

The Clippers come into Thursday’s game with a 45-22 record overall but they are 1-2 since the NBA restart. LA is coming off of a 117-115 loss to the Phoenix Suns. Both of the Clipper’s two losses have come by two points. LA is 28-16 this season vs Western Conference teams.

The Mavericks are 41-29 on the season including a 1-2 mark during their bubble games. Dallas has lost by four points in overtime to Houston and by two to the Phoenix Suns. The Mavericks are 26-17 this season vs the Western Conference.

This is the third meeting between the two teams and the Clippers have won both meetings to this point. They won 114-99 back on November 26 and they defeated the Mavs 110-107 back on January 21.

TV Schedule

Date: 8/6/20
Time: 6:30 PM ET
Arena: HP Field House, Orlando, FL
Channel: TNT

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Injuries

Clippers: Montrezl Harrell (O), Patrick Beverley (O)
Mavericks: Seth Curry (O)

LA Clippers Starting Lineup

PG: Reggie Jackson
SG: Paul George
SF: Kawhi Leonard
PF: Marcus Morris
C: Ivica Zubac

Clippers Analysis

The Clippers come into Thursday’s game having lost on Tuesday to the Phoenix Suns. In the loss, the Suns shot 17-32 from three and outscored the Clippers by 27 points from deep.

After shooting 25-47 from three in the win over New Orleans, the Clippers struggled from deep shooting only 8-29.

Kawhi Leonard and Paul George struggled shooting as Leonard went 10-21 from the field and George was 6-17. LA was without Montrezl Harrell in the loss and they lost starting point guard Patrick Beverley after only eight minutes. Beverley will miss Thursday’s game.

They did get Lou Williams back who missed two games quarantining after leaving the NBA’s bubble. Williams finished with 7-6-6 while playing 21 minutes.

The Clippers have been dominant this season when healthy as they rank fourth in the NBA in net rating. They have the league’s third-best offense and fourth-best defense.

According to Cleaning the Glass, the Clippers rank first in the NBA at FT rate and they are second in the NBA in opponents eFG%.

Dallas Mavericks Starting Lineup

PG: J.J. Barea
SG: Luka Doncic
SF: Tim Hardaway Jr.
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
C: Kristaps Porzingis

Mavericks Analysis

Two things have been true this season when it comes to the Dallas Mavericks. They have been historically good on offense and they are really bad on defense.

Dallas has the league’s best offense when it comes to offensive rating as they are a full 2.3 points better than the second-best team Houston. That difference is the same as the difference between number 2 and number 12.

The Mavericks defense has been another story. They rank 17th in the NBA in defensive rating. A big problem for the Mavericks is that they force the fewest turnovers in the league according to Cleaning the Glass.

In the win over Sacramento, the Mavericks held the Kings scoreless over the final five minutes of the fourth quarter. That allowed Dallas to tie the game and force overtime where they eventually won.

Luka Doncic was magnificent as he finished with 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists. He is one of just four players to have a stat line of 30-20-10.

Clippers vs Mavericks Fantasy Basketball Angle

The Clippers and Mavericks have several players worth using in daily fantasy. The LA Clippers duo of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George has been outstanding all season and both players have put up big numbers since the restart. Despite a rough shooting performance vs the Suns Leonard and George combined for 50 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists.

As for the Mavericks, they have their dynamic duo in Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis. Porzingis had a solid line of 22 points and seven rebounds in the win over Sacramento but it was Doncic whole stole the show. Doncic finished with 34 points, 20 rebounds, and 12 assists in the win while shooting 12-24 from the field. Any of those four will be solid choices for DFS.

Clippers vs Mavericks Betting Odds

Clippers Odds: -165
Mavericks Odds: +145
Over/Under: 231.5

The Clippers and Mavericks should be a tough game to predict as LA is missing two key players and the Mavericks have struggled to play 48 minutes of basketball. Given that the Clippers are undefeated against the Mavericks and have a defense capable of slowing down the Mavs I would lean LA in this matchup. As for the over/under it could be a tricky play as it all depends on how the Mavericks fare against a great Clippers defense. In the two previous meetings, the teams combined for 213 and 217 points.