The Mavericks know exactly what’s coming from the Los Angeles Clippers.
It’s going to be nasty, both physically and mentally. Mean things about one’s relatives might be mentioned.
The Mavericks might be called everything in the book.
Kristaps Porzingis has been there and expects more of the same this time around.
The Mavericks’ big man played three games last season in the playoff series against the Clippers before he was sidelined by a knee injury.
More on that in a moment.
While he was in the series, he also got ejected from Game 1 when he let the Clippers (and the referees) get under his skin.
He knows now that’s going to come with the territory starting Saturday in Game 1 of the first-round rematch with the Clippers.
“It’ll probably happen,” Porzingis said after a robust practice session Wednesday. “We already know who they are. We have to control our emotions.
“We don’t want to fall into their game. We know they’re going to do it. They’re going to try to provoke us. (The Mavericks need to) always have your teammates’ back, don’t back down. But don’t do anything that gives them an advantage.”
Like get ejected, which happened to Porzingis in Game 1 in the third quarter. The play that Porzingis regrets in that game wasn’t stepping in between Marcus Morris and Luka Dončić to stick up for his teammate. It was the play when he air-punched his fist after getting called for a foul on a block of Paul George.
“I regret that I reacted to the play when I thought I blocked Paul George cleanly and I threw the fist — that’s an automatic technical,” he said.
Lesson learned.
There no doubt will be more lessons learned, but the one thing that remains front and center for Porzingis is that nobody wants to show that he can stay on the basketball court for long, injury-free stretches more than he does.
He also knows there is only one way to prove that.
So that’s the pressure that the 7-3 Porzingis is facing going into the series against the Clippers.
And that’s exactly the way it should be, according to his coach.
“When you’re part of an organization like the Dallas Mavericks and there’s a game scheduled, there’s pressure to win that game,” Rick Carlisle said. “When you come work for Mark Cuban, you got to be somebody that loves pressure. I keep getting questions: is there pressure to advance? Hell yeah, there’s pressure to advance. That’s what this is all about. But you got to love pressure.”
And staying upright is part of the equation for Porzingis.
“Look, the last three games (of the regular season), he played well, he moved well,” Carlisle said. “The last couple days at practice, he’s done a great job. This is a great opportunity. The level of challenge is huge. You start out on the road against the Clippers, but we’ve got to be fearless and we’ve got to be very together and very focused. But this is the best time of the year. The most competitive time of the year.”
Porzingis remembers just how he felt when he realized the first playoff run of his career was going to end after the third game last year in the bubble near Orlando.
It was a feeling he never wants to experience again.
“I was heartbroken,” he said. “I remember, especially that fourth game. I was just heartbroken. It’s not like the regular season when you miss a game and, OK it’s whatever. It was one of the worst feelings, aside from actually losing big games. But I picked myself back up and looked at what’s next.
“I’m glad I got those three games in with that kind of intensity and that kind of focus. I’m excited about this season’s playoffs.”
It’s an opportunity for Porzingis to steer clear of controversy, and physical problems. The Mavericks need him to be able to do both.
Kleber making strides: Maxi Kleber went through a large portion of Wednesday’s practice, and Carlisle gave a cautious, optimistic analysis of the big man’s outlook for Saturday’s opener of the first-round series.
“Today, he went through parts of the contact portion of practice, and there was a large contact portion of practice.,” Carlisle said. “And he did well, to my knowledge. Some of this is the test of how it’s going to feel the next day. But we’re hoping that he’s going to be OK.
“He’s obviously a big part of our team, whether he’s a starter or coming off the bench. We’re hopeful. And that’s about all I can tell you at this point. We’re going to have to see how the next couple days go.”
Kleber missed most of the last two weeks of the season, playing in only two of the final eight games and was on the court for limited minutes in those.
Carlisle said he’s been fighting an Achilles issue off and on for a considerable time. And while there have been good days and bad days, this is not a good time to be hampered.
Twitter: @ESefko
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