3 matchups to watch in Dallas Mavericks vs. Jazz playoff series without Luka Doncic

Matchup to watch in Dallas Mavericks vs. Jazz playoff series: 3. Gobert vs. Doe-Doe

Dorian Finney-Smith invites this matchup against one of the league’s best defenders because he knows it will result in open looks. The Jazz need Rudy Gobert defending the rim and patrolling the paint. He is going to sink inside whenever the Mavericks get penetration, which leaves Doe-Doe wide open behind the 3-point line.

Whoever Gobert starts the possession on will be wide open if Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie can get downhill into the paint. Can the Mavs make enough open shots to force the three-time Defensive Player of the Year to guard on the perimeter?

Finney-Smith is not the player the Jazz want to leave open right now. Over the team’s final 25 regular season games, he averaged 13.3 points per game on 55.0 percent shooting from the field and 46.3 percent on his threes. Doe-Doe just keeps getting better, and it resulted in career-highs in points, assists, steals, 3-pointers made, and minutes per game this season.

Rudy Gobert will begin the game on Dwight Powell, but if the Dallas Mavericks shift to a five-out small-ball lineup, he will have to guard Dorian Finney-Smith or Davis Bertans. Both players can make Gobert pay for trying to protect the rim. Will Dallas Mavericks be able to create and knock down enough open looks to steal a game without Luka Doncic? It could be the key to the series.