The volume is there for PJ Washington. We've fell just short of this two games in a row and it's giving us the opportunity for a buy low spot. Washington is 1 for 9 from deep in his past two games, with the good news being he's put up 8 attempts. Dallas needs a better performance from him tonight to stay in this game, especially with a not 100% Luka. The Model makes the number 12.

Derrick Jones Jr. has been one of the reasons for the Dallas Mavericks improved defense. Offensively he is always up and down, but in this series he has improved in the points department every game. In game one he went scoreless, and has since scored 10, 11, and 14 points. The Clippers will continue to let him shoot open three point shots, and Jones is showing he can knock them down. Take his over 9.5 points

Call it the Kawhi Leonard conundrum for the Clippers, who have been winning in this series in the games their top star has missed but losing in the games he participated. Sunday's no-Kawhi Game 4 was quite a rollercoaster, too, as LA built a 31-point lead, only for the Mavs to erase it completely deep in the 4th Q before some late Paul George heroics saved the Clips. LA's performance has fluctuated pretty wildly in this series, with big first half half efforts in Games 1 and 4 (without Kawhi) and outplayed the rest of the time. Dallas came into Crypto.com and won in Game 2 and can take a lead back to Big D as Luka and Kyrie remain reliable. Play Mavs

Norman Powell struggled mightily in the first two games of this series, but has gotten untracked over the past two with 32 points on 11-of-19 shooting. He has played 30 or more minutes in three games and is likely to get 30-plus again given Kawhi Leonard's absence and the Clippers' short bench (only three reserves play). The Mavs are weak defensively at guard. Look for Powell to score 12 or more in a pivotal Game 5.

Ivica Zubac is having an exceptional series where he is averaging a healthy 16/10 on 57% shooting from field. Zubac had a career best season and he has been a difference maker in this series. With that being said, this number is simply massive for the Croatian Center and I anticipate a better performance defensively from Daniel Gafford who has really been underwhelming in this series, despite an incredible 20 game stretch to close out the regular season. Zubac has the best plus/minus of any member of the Clippers so it will be imperative for Dallas to try to keep him at bay and/or off the floor.

Luka is looking a little banged up and not quite himself and exerting a lot of effort defensively. Including on trying to slow down Harden. Kyrie was a slow starter in this series but we thought he'd go way over 30 in the last game, and with Gafford banged up, too, he has to carry a heavy scoring load in what might be a seven-game series now. Expect him to be assertive from range and getting to the rim; if they can get Zubac in foul trouble while Kawhi is out, a lot of offensive possibilities will open up for Dallas. I was wrong in this series; Mavs are in trouble and need their stars to shine very bright here.