LOS ANGELES -- When Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle looks at the Los Angeles Clippers on film, he sees an extremely dangerous basketball team.
""The way they've played the last seven or eight weeks, they've shown that right now they're the best team in basketball,'' Carlisle said. "In all areas, they're beyond solid, they're dynamic ansd so we're going to play very smart, very tough, and we're going to have to take care of the ball, rebound and do everything well.''
Carlisle said transition defense, ball security and rebounding are the keys to beating the Clippers, who the Mavs play at 9:30 tonight the the Staples Center. The Mavs also have to be aware of the lob passes -- for dunks -- that the Clippers have made famous.
"Taking the lob out of the game is key because it gets them into it, it gets their fans into it,'' Carlisle said. "And so we have to have a great awareness of (center) DeAndre Jordan, and (forward Blake) Griffin's rolls to the basket.
"They'll throw lobs to (point guard Eric) Bledsoe, too. They've got a bunch of guys that can go up and get it.''
Carlisle certainly knows that first-hand as the Clippers put on a dunk-fest when they defeated the Mavs, 112-90, on Dec. 5.
-- Dwain Price
Follow me on Twitter
@dwainprice
Comments