Who’s more important to Mavs-Clippers series: Luka Doncic or Kawhi Leonard?

Dallas Morning News Mavericks beat writers Mike Curtis and Brad Townsend participated in a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) on Thursday to answer questions about the first-round playoff series with the Los Angeles Clippers and more.

Here are some highlights, edited for length and clarity:

Do you think Luka [Doncic]’s play or Kawhi [Leonard]’s is more important to the series? If they are both playing to their ceiling (angry Luka and robot Kawhi), who wins the series?

Brad: To me, it’s always about Luka. He’s more valuable to the Mavs than Leonard is to the Clippers. That’s no knock on Leonard; it’s just that Doncic (and Irving) are pretty much everything to the Mavericks. If both are playing to their ceiling — I love your description, btw, might steal that one — I’ll take the Mavericks. I picked them to win in 6 games and nothing I’ve seen here early has changed my mind.

Mike: Game 3 is going to be an important one for both teams. Teams who win Game 3 usually go on to win the series 73.7% of the time. I’m going to go ahead and say Luka’s play is more important to the series simply because of what we saw in Game 2. The Clippers have already proven they can win without Kawhi and they seemed to have better offensive synergy in Game 1 with James Harden running pick-and-rolls with Paul George and Ivica Zubac. Of course, Kawhi is still Kawhi and he’s a plus to have any time he’s on the floor, but he needs to be healthy. Luka’s assertiveness on both ends of the floor propelled Dallas and it translated to his teammates. I’m getting a bit long, but Luka is my short answer.

Are the “others” meeting expectations so far, and do you expect any players to break out or recede in the next game, with us returning home?

Brad: Plain and simple, the “others” fell short in Game 1 and rose to the occasion in Game 2. In Game 1 I thought Gafford, P.J. Washington, Lively and to some extent Jones showed nervousness. In Jones’ case that surprised me because he’s been in some high-level playoff series with Miami.

The Mavs’ lack of scoring options seems to be hurting the team. Which player (aside from P.J.) do you think will rise to the occasion, especially now that the games are at home?

Mike: If he’s healthy, Mavs have to somehow, some way, get Gafford unlocked. Even 8 to 10 points per game would make a big difference. You make a great point about Games 3 and 4 being at home. I could see not only Gafford, but Dante Exum stepping up offensively.

Any theories as to what happened to Tim Hardaway Jr. after [the All-Star break]? He was excellent up until then and borderline unplayable since.

Brad: Bottom line on Hardaway is that his shot went south, like fell off a cliff. We’ve seen him have droughts before and come out of them. Kidd stayed with him as long as he could, and longer than many fans wanted him to, but the Mavs couldn’t afford any more 2-for-11s while trying to make up lost ground in the standings. I do, however, see him as a potential playoff X factor, whether it’s one series, one game, one big key moment, so his injury is concerning. As physical as Games 1 and 2 have been, you wonder if it’s going to be a battle of attrition. Mavs want and need everyone available, Hardaway included.

Do you think Mavs are high on [Olivier-Maxence Prosper]’s potential? Is he a untouchable player?

Brad: From everything I’ve been told, yes. We’ve heard Kidd mention him several times in recent weeks as part of the “successful summer” that Dallas had personnel-wise. I recently asked a Mavericks braintrust member if they think Prosper’s shot needs a major overhaul. I was told, emphatically, no. But this will be a big summer for him.

How has Mark Cuban’s sale of the club changed the atmosphere in and around the organization?

Brad: I’ve seen some subtle behind the scenes changes that I’ll probably write about at some point, but nothing that has shown up in terms of what’s happening on the court. The biggest question as it relates to new ownership obvious is the contract status of Nico Harrison and Jason Kidd, who are three years into four-year deals. Contrary to what Mark Cuban kept telling us when the sale went through, every sign I’m seeing is that those questions will be settled by Patrick Dumont, not Cuban.

More from the Reddit AMA

How critical is a healthy Daniel Gafford to Mavs-Clippers series, potential playoff run?