Overview
- Dallas hosts Los Angeles at American Airlines Center tonight at 7:30 p.m. CT in NBA Cup group play.
- The Mavericks are 3-9 (0-6 vs. the West) after dropping six of seven, while the Clippers are 3-8 on a six-game skid.
- Kawhi Leonard is out and Bradley Beal is out for the season for L.A.; Dallas lists Anthony Davis and P.J. Washington as questionable, with Dereck Lively II expected to return per ESPN’s Shams Charania.
- Jason Kidd has leaned into a Cooper Flagg–Brandon Williams starting pairing that has produced a markedly better net rating than Flagg’s minutes with D’Angelo Russell, according to Cleaning the Glass data cited locally.
- DraftKings had the Clippers favored at -3.5 with a 219.5 total as of early Friday, with prop chatter highlighting James Harden’s assists and Ivica Zubac’s rebounding/points in the matchup.