Luka, Kyrie Irving and the rest of the fifth-seeded Dallas guys will face the fourth-seeded Los Angeles Clippers in the first round. One doesn’t have to dig too far back into the bank of painful playoff memories to recall that this is the same team that bounced the Mavs out of the playoffs in the first round in both 2020 and 2021. The '21 series was especially brutal for local fans, as the Mavs held a two games to zero lead and then a three games to two lead, only to fall after a blowout Game 7 loss.
That one stung, to be sure, perhaps doubly so when the Mavericks tanked the final few games of the '22–'23 season in order to miss the postseason and secure a higher draft position. Thankfully, the player the team secured with that lottery draft pick, Dereck Lively II, has been one of the brightest spots for a team that has seen more than a few bright, lively moments this season.
Here’s what to know about the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA playoffs:
When Do the Playoffs Start?
Aside from the strong final month of the season, the best news facing the Mavericks right now is that they earned a week off by avoiding the “play-in tournament.” While the teams seeded 7 through 10 fight for a spot in the playoffs, the local team will be resting up. That's a major bonus, as it means that Lively, who has missed the past couple of weeks due to injury, will likely be able to join the team for the beginning of the series against the Clippers. The series gets underway on Sunday, April 21, in Los Angeles (game time had not been announced as of Monday morning). Are the Mavericks the Favorite to Win?
As of Monday morning, the oddsmakers aren’t sure what to make of this matchup. The Clippers seem to be slight favorites, but not everyone in Las Vegas is convinced. According to BetMGM, the Clippers “have played some of the worst defense in the league over the final two months of the season, raising concerns that they peaked too early,” while the Mavericks are “a Western Conference Finals team,” in their view. For their part, the Sporting News predicts the Mavericks to take the series in seven games. While not specifically predicting victory in the opening round, ESPN seems upbeat on the Mavs’ chances for advancing, writing “MVP candidate Luka Doncic's Mavericks morphed into contenders in early February, when co-star Kyrie Irving got healthy and Mavs general manager Nico Harrison pulled off deadline deals to acquire power forward P.J. Washington and center Daniel Gafford.”
Who Are the Players to Watch?
We’ll move past the obvious answers of Doncic and Irving, arguably the league’s most dangerous duo heading into the playoffs, and suggest that fans pay attention to the twin tower combo of Lively and Gafford. This big-man rotation represents the most significant change in the team from last year to this year, and offers something no other Mavericks squad has had since the 2011 championship season, when difference-making center Tyson Chandler protected the paint. Should Lively and Gafford make it tough for the Clippers to get easy, high-percentage shots off while also filling their end of the court with these types of close shots — something Gafford has done extremely well since joining the team — then the Mavericks could enjoy some convincing wins.
How Do I Get Mavericks Playoff Tickets?
As you might imagine, the playoffs are always a hot ticket. When they went on sale late last week, tickets for the first playoff home game against the Clippers, Game 3 of the series, sold out almost immediately, and there still isn’t a date set for that game. On Monday morning, the Ticketmaster site had a large number of verified resale options available beginning at $110 for seats in the American Airlines Center’s upper 300 level. Where Can I Watch the NBA Playoffs?
Should you decide to watch the games from the comfort of your own home, all NBA playoff games will be televised nationally on ABC, ESPN, NBA TV and TNT. How about catching the games in a fine local pub? Check out our list of the best spots here.
