Dallas Mavericks vs LA Clippers Prediction: The Mavs are amazing at home

The NBA Regular Season is on and what a fascinating start to the season this has been. Many teams have been exceeding expectations but this is still early on in the season and a lot is bound to change as the deeper season will unleash its fangs and the injury list is going to pile up. In this game, two teams still searching for rhythm in the Dallas Mavericks and the LA Clippers will meet here. 

The Mavericks won 117:112 against the Trail Blazers as Luka Doncic racked up 42 points. The Mavs broke a two-game losing streak and are looking ominous at home. They have won six out of seven games on the home floor. Four of the next games are home games and they have been making much of their hay on the home floor. The Mavericks are highly reliant upon Luka Doncic who has been having another MVP-styled season. Spencer Dinwiddie has been a reliable second option.

Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. have combined for great contributions off the bench. Maxi Kleber gives the defensive edge but the trouble for the Mavericks at times is their Forward combination. Defensively, the Mavs have been in incredible shape but they have been struggling away from home more often than they’d like. The Mavs have a great balance though and they are a team that made the Conference Finals run last season and the inclusion of Christian Wood only accelerated matters.

The Clippers come into this game after an expected win as they defeated the lowly Houston Rockets 122:106 behind a 22 points performance by premier Guard Paul George. The Clippers have won four of their last six games with George leading the effort. Despite a decent eight wins and six losses record, the Clippers are yet to break the habits they developed last season when they’d have an impressive run but collapse in key games repeatedly.

This is largely due to the absence of Kawhi Leonard who kept the team better on both ends and gave the team an extra option in crunch time. While Marcus Morris has filled in well as the Wing scorer while Ivica Zubac has been having a career year on the rebounding Reggie Jackson has been inconsistent whereas John Wall has given guard depth as a playmaker. Norman Powell has been doing well and overall, the Clippers have a lot of potential with their deep bench and host of experienced players.

• Clippers: OUT: John Wall, Kawhi Leonard;
• Mavericks: OUT: Davis Bertans.

• Expected Leading Scorers: Luka Doncic(30+ Points), Paul George(26-33 Points), Spencer Dinwiddie(20+ Points);
• Expected Leading Rebounders: Ivica Zubac(11-15 Rebounds), Luka Doncic(9-13 Rebounds);
• Expected Leading Playmakers: Luka Doncic(7-11 Assists), Reggie Jackson(5-8 Assists).

The Mavericks have been a tough squad to tackle at home and look prolific on both ends here especially late in the game. It is because both guards Dinwiddie and Doncic are able to take hold of the situation late in the game. For the Clippers, that job is ascribed to Paul George who’d love to get his mate Kawhi Leonard back. In this particular game, defense can take centre-stage and scoring can be low. I see the Mavs winning with the points range in 206-214. How will the Clippers respond in a back-to-back situation?