Mavs Roundtable: Is There an ‘Ideal’ NBA Playoffs Matchup for Dallas?

The DallasBasketball.com staff discusses whether Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks should have a preferred NBA playoffs matchup or not.

The Dallas Mavericks are 35-24 with 22 games remaining in the regular season. Given the Mavs’ four-game cushion on the seventh-seeded Wolves, it appears that they’ll avoid the play-in tournament unless unforeseen disaster strikes.

With that in mind, we asked our DallasBasketball.com staff the following: 

What’s the most favorable first-round matchup for Dallas? Is there a team they should try to avoid? Does being in the top or bottom half of the West bracket matter more than which team they play first?

Fish: Three things for me …

1) “Disaster” is the right word for the play-in thing. I’m not a fan — but I’m especially not a fan of Dallas being in it.

2) Who not to play? Regardless of standings and seeding … I have Clippers nightmares. Always.

3) I hope Dallas doesn’t try to manipulate itself toward a foe in any way other than winning. This field is unpredictable enough that nobody is guaranteed much. Get Luka in the tournament and maybe magical things can happen.

Grant Afseth: Based on the standings, it seems most likely they will end up facing the Utah Jazz in the first round, whether with home court advantage or not is perhaps the most important factor. However, there's also an outside shot of being in a position to face the Denver Nuggets.

There hasn't been a more efficient offense on a per possession basis than the Jazz this season, and Dallas having to handle multiple guards that can attack would make for a tough matchup. Trying to handle Nikola Jokic inside, along with the possibility of Michael Porter Jr. and/or Jamal Murray being able to make a return to the lineup, would make Denver all the more challenging for a potential matchup.

An MVP level player like Jokic can change a series in a major way, and with the Mavericks needing to send help to stop his scoring, it would open up too many passing opportunities for him.

Having home court advantage to take on the Jazz seems to be the most favorable outcome even though Utah presents challenges of their own. They stick to their defensive principles, sometimes to a fault, and if Luka Doncic is converting from deep, there will be opportunities for success.

Dalton Trigg: I’m honestly surprised no one has mentioned the Memphis Grizzlies yet as the Mavs’ most favorable matchup. As good as the Grizzlies have been — and they have been good — it still kind of feels like they’ve been overhyped a little bit. I don’t know, though, maybe that’s just me after watching the Mavs win the season series against the Grizzlies 3-1 with two of those wins being blowouts and the one loss happening only because Luka Doncic didn’t play in that one. 

And although Doncic won’t state it publicly, you know deep down he has some extra motivation going up against Ja Morant, who took his All-Star starter spot. Memphis might be a preferred matchup, but having that matchup would mean Dallas slipped a spot in the standings, and I’m not sure that’s going to happen given how well the team has been playing as of late.

To be perfectly clear, I believe the Mavs can beat any opponent as long as Doncic is healthy and rested. Memphis, Denver, Utah — it doesn’t matter to me one way or another. Doncic is the greatest equalizer the Mavs have, so if he’s on the court, Dallas will have a chance vs. anybody. Plus, Michael Jordan just transferred his basketball powers over to Doncic at All-Star Weekend, so the rest of the league should be worried.