The start of the 2024 NBA Playoffs is just a few days away, and fans can’t wait to see their favorite team take the floor.

The Dallas Mavericks’ first-round matchup is against the LA Clippers, and this is a team they know all too well.

Dallas played and lost to the Clippers in 2020 and 2021, and now is their chance for revenge. No one on the Mavs is taking this series lightly, as the Clippers will be a tough matchup and have an excellent team. Even with the uncertainty of Kawhi Leonard’s injury, the Mavs will have their hands full all series long while defending the Clippers.

P.J. Washington reveals biggest challenge of playing Clippers

One player in particular who will have a big defensive assignment is P.J. Washington, and he revealed the biggest challenge that the Mavs will face against the Clippers during media availability on Tuesday.

I asked P.J. Washington about the biggest challenge of playing the LA Clippers heading into the playoffs:

“Being able to play defense the whole game and just being physical on that end and just disrupting trying to disrupt everything they do on that end.” pic.twitter.com/JGXngo5EYN

— Noah Weber (@noahweber00) April 16, 2024

“Being able to play defense the whole game and just being physical on that end,” Washington said after Tuesday’s practice “Just trying to disrupt everything they do on that end.”

Washington’s defense has been elite this season for the Mavs, and Dallas’ defense overall has also been excellent. Staying engaged and physical on that end of the floor seems like the main focus for Washington and the team, and doing this could lead them all the way to the NBA Finals.

Dallas is a completely different team when they’re locked in on the defensive end of the floor, and their performance on that end has made them dangerous contenders. If the Mavs struggle to defend in the playoffs, their postseason run may end before it even starts.

One of the biggest changes that the trades for Daniel Gafford and P.J. Washington brought to the team was more size and more defense, and these two players have provided a huge boost on that end of the floor that the team desperately needed.

Without making these two midseason moves, the Mavs may have been in a much different position than they are in now. Both Gafford and Washington have been exactly what the Mavs needed, and both players will have big challenges ahead on both ends of the floor against the Clippers.

Washington will likely spend time guarding both Leonard and Paul George in this series, and he remains a huge X-factor to the team’s postseason success. When Washington is hitting his shots, this Mavs team is tough to beat.

For all the latest on P.J. Washington and the Dallas Mavericks all throughout the 2024 NBA Playoffs, stay tuned.