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Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks, led by Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, have a chance to lock up a top-six seed in the Western Conference playoff rankings, but they’ll need some outside assistance to make it happen.
Tuesday night, the Dallas Mavericks play the Charlotte Hornets with the opportunity to formally lock up a top-six spot in the Western Conference rankings. The objective has been to move up the West standings and avoid the Play-In Tournament ever since the Mavs were 26-23 in early February. At 48-30, Dallas is almost there.
If the Mavs win against the Hornets on Tuesday and the Phoenix Suns or New Orleans Pelicans lose, they will have guaranteed a postseason spot. The Suns host the Los Angeles Clippers, while the Pelicans go to Portland to play the Trail Blazers.
Dallas would also capture the Southwest Division title for the seventh time in team history with a victory against the Mavs and a defeat of the Pelicans. Strangely enough, Dallas has lost in the opening round of the playoffs the previous four times it has won its division. The Mavs should be able to break that pattern this time around since Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are playing at MVP levels and the team has a lot of depth and talent, led by Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington, and other players.
Unless something crazy happens in these last four games, the Mavs will likely begin the playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers on the road. It would be fitting for Irving to play his first Mavs playoff game in the same arena he played his first Mavs regular-season game last year. Kawhi Leonard’s health will be a big storyline to keep an eye on, as the star forward has missed the Clippers’ last four games with “knee inflammation.”
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