Dallas Mavs vs. Los Angeles Clippers Playoffs Round 3? Kawhi Leonard Needs Knee Treatment

The Dallas Mavericks could potentially match up with the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA playoffs for the third time in five years, and the health of Kawhi Leonard has recently become something to keep an eye on.

Dalton Trigg | Apr 2, 2024

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

In this story:

If the NBA Playoffs started today, the Dallas Mavericks would be playing the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round for the third time in the last five years. If that happens this time around, the Mavs might have a significant health advantage.

As the Clippers prepare to take on the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night, head coach Ty Lue told reporters that star forward Kawhi Leonard has left the team to go back to Los Angeles for treatment on his sore knee. Leonard, who has played in 68 games this season – the most he's played in a single season since 2016-17 – missed the entire 2021-22 season due to tearing his ACL, so the Clippers will be cautious with him.

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The Mavs currently have sole possession of the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference playoff standings, but they are only two games behind the Clippers in the loss column, so home-court advantage with the No. 4 seed isn't out of the question. Given that the Clippers own the regular-season tiebreaker over the Mavs, Dallas would need to win three more games than them in the final eight games of the season to overtake them in the standings.

If Leonard has to miss significant time, the Mavs' chances of climbing up to the No. 4 seed increase significantly, so long as they keep winning games. Dallas looks to extend its seven-game win streak against the Golden State Warriors on the road on Tuesday night.

Published Apr 2, 2024

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.