As a youngster, P.J. Washington was taught to always tell the truth.
So when he was asked about what he remembered about the Mavericks’ first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers in 2020 and 2021, he was blunt.
“I’m going to be honest with you, I didn’t really watch a lot of playoff basketball because I wasn’t participating,” he said. “I’m kind of (ticked) off about that, but I’m here now, so it’s all good.”
Washington will make his first playoff appearance in Game 1 on Sunday when the first round begins for the Mavericks against the Los Angeles Clippers. It will be a joyous moment for Washington.
He spent four-plus seasons in Charlotte when the Hornets were in a perpetual rebuilding mode.
The trade in February that brought him to the Mavericks meant he was stepping into a more competitive, stressful situation. And more rewarding.
The Mavericks are playing for something bigger than just regular-season entertainment for their fans.
“It means everything,” he said. “And obviously, to make it in Dallas, my hometown, a lot of family and friends are going to be there. I’m just excited. It’s a dream come true for me and I can’t wait to get it going.”
The only drawback he’s noticed so far?
“Tickets are kind of expensive, so we’re still figuring that one out,” he said about what kind of obligations he had to family and friends to come up with seats at the home games.
The 6-7 Washington has been one of the anchors for the Mavericks’ defense, which grew teeth in front of our eyes after the All-Star break. That’s when another newcomer, Daniel Gafford, and Washington became staples in the starting lineup and the Mavericks began to take pride in stopping the other team.
They had the No. 1 defensive rating in the league over the last 20 games. They held 16 of their final 20 opponents to 108 points or fewer, which is like putting handcuffs on them in this era of free-wheeling offensive dominance.
But it was the stretch before that in late February and early March when the Mavericks lost five of six games and got a dose of reality of what it’s like when they don’t play defense.
“We definitely got closer in that stretch and we kind of started being aggressive and being able to talk more on the defensive end,” Washington said. “When we don’t talk, it’s a lot easier for guys to score. But when we do talk, we’re lights out on that end.”
And that should come in handy against the Clippers.
Asked what he thought the key to the series would be, Washington said: “For us, being able to play defense the whole game, being physical and trying to disrupt everything they do on that end.”
Not that Washington isn’t eager to contribute at the other end of the floor. His offensive production since arriving in Dallas has ebbed and flowed. In his first 18 games with the Mavericks, he shot 25 percent from three-point land.
In the last 11 games, he shot 39.7 percent.
Part of it was getting adjusted to the new system. In Charlotte, Washington took three-pointers from the wings and straight out from the basket. Here, it’s more corner threes.
“I know who I am. I’ve been putting in the work from Day One,” Washington said. “At the end of the day, it’s a game. It’s basketball. I’m not going to make them all. Just be able to take the next shot and not think about the last one.”
And, of course, the Mavericks aren’t exactly bankrupt on the offensive side of the court. They have two of the best scorers in the game in their backcourt with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving.
“We’ve always trusted (him) and you can see that on both ends,” coach Jason Kidd said. “We’ve always graded him on the defensive end. Being able to knock down the three helped us. We would love for him to do that every night. But we don’t judge him on making threes. We love what he does for us on the defensive end.”
And that’s what the Mavericks are going to need most from Washington in the first round against the Clippers.
And, finally, Washington will get his chance to be part of it.
Trying to rev it up: The playoffs invariably are a slower, more physical animal than regular-season games, but Kidd said he’s hoping the Mavericks can remain true to the uptempo they embraced during the season.
“The playoffs, they tend to slow down,” Kidd said. “For us, we don’t want them to slow down. We want to keep playing with that pace.
“Using our depth to our advantage is something that’s helped us this season. And that’s something we got to lean on in this series is being able to run and not letting their defense get set. They’re very good on the defensive end. They got great hands, they can swipe, come up with a lot of steals, play the passing lanes at a very high level.”
The Clippers have veteran superstars. Kawhi Leonard, whose status is cloudy with knee inflammation, Paul George, James Harden and Russell Westbrook all are athletic, even as they have aged.
“This group we’re playing against, their basketball IQ is extremely high,” Kidd said. “They’ve seen everything. So we have to take care of the ball, but we do want to get out and run.”
Home fires: The Mavericks joined the list of 10 NBA teams this season that sold out every home game.
Actually, they continued to top the list. It’s been 22 years in a row when they’ve had nothing but sellouts.
“They’re our sixth man,” Dončić said. “And they help us a lot. When we were down, I remember some games, they stayed and cheered us on to some wins.
“I expect it to be a great atmosphere in the playoffs. They’ve been amazing since my first year.”
Said Kidd: “We have the best fans in the league. They come out every night, no matter if it’s a Monday or a Tuesday. To have that support is going to be big and we’re going to need that in this series.”
X: @ESefko
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