The 2023-24 NBA postseason matchups have been decided and the Los Angeles Clippers will be going up against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round. The game will see some big names against each other and is expected to produce a thrilling matchup. Celtics legends Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett also gave their opinion on the game recently claiming the Clippers are going to have a tough time defending the star tandem of Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
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Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett had an extensive debate as to who might come out on top between the battle of the fourth and fifth seeds in the West on KG Certified. And by the looks of it, the Celtics legends don’t seem to be too confident in this Clippers squad.
Kevin Garnett asked Paul Pierce if he believed the Clippers had what it took to take down the Mavericks. Upon finding out whether Kawhi Leonard was playing or not, Pierce was not too happy with the Clippers’ chances against Dallas.
“How’s Kawhi? Is Kawhi playing the last game?…That’s what I’m saying. I got them beating, I got Dallas beating them. If Kawhi going to be out? Yeah.”
Garnett went on to ask Pierce who he thought would go on to guard Kyrie Irving. And The Truth mentioned that fans would get to see a Kyrie Irving-James Harden matchup, something The Big Ticket was not on board with.
“Nah man. You can’t, what?…Nah, man. (Terence) Mann will probably, actually guard Kyrie and Paul George or Kawhi will actually guard Luka…They got to double these boys. I would double Luka every f**king time he get the ball out of his hand. Same thing with Kyrie.”
Pierce and Garnett were more focused on the Dallas Mavericks and their supporting cast. The two legends were certainly not too confident in the Clippers’ ability to contain Irving and Luka, especially with how the rest of the Dallas squad has been performing.
One of the biggest factors that had Paul Pierce lose most of his faith in Los Angeles was Kawhi Leonard getting sidelined. Though the team still had Paul George, Pierce wasn’t too sure that the Clippers would be able to fend off the Mavericks without The Klaw. Coming to Garnett’s point of doubling their star players, the supporting cast of the Mavericks has been on point lately. And if the Clippers do end up doubling Irving or Luka, their ball rotation is bound to create problems for Los Angeles in the upcoming series.
Luka Doncic takes on the Clippers once again
Luka Doncic will face off against the Los Angeles Clippers for the third time in his career in playoffs. The first two times, Doncic was able to push the series to seven games each time they met in the postseason. In the 13 games he has played against the Clippers, Luka Doncic has averaged 33.5 points, 9.5 assists, and 8.8 rebounds in the playoffs, per Statmuse. So, it’ll be interesting to see how Luka fares against the Clippers team this time.
Fans will also get to see Kyrie Irving go up against his former teammate, James Harden. While Kevin Garnett wasn’t too confident in the Irving-Harden matchup, fans are still eager to see how it’ll play off.
No doubt that Irving is a wizard with the ball in his hands. Many believe that Harden, being a former teammate of Kyrie, would have more success on the defensive end as opposed to other defenders. Let’s see who comes out on top in the battle of this fourth and fifth seed.
