As Dallas Head Coach Jason Kidd said:
“They’re not just the third seed. This team has won championships. They’ve been down in series, and they’re a team that’s not gonna panic. We got our hands full,”
Kidd, a part of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks championship team, was referring to the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green. And the 49-year-old NBA legend isn’t wrong when he said the Mavs will have their hands full in the 2022 Western Conference Finals.
A Hot Start for GSW
Luka Doncic and the rest of the Mavericks just finished knocking off the top team in the West in a seven-game slugfest in the West semifinals. While some predicted this series to be a close one, Game One indicated otherwise.
The Warriors erupted for 28 points in the first quarter- en route to a 112-87 home win to open their Western Conference Finals series. This, despite the fact that Curry had a less than stellar performance in the series opener. And he didn’t have to.
Seven players finished with at least 10 points for Golden State in Game One, led by Curry’s 21 points. Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson finished with 19 and 15 respectively, with Draymond Green and Kevon Looney combined for 20 points and 14 rebounds. Otto Porter Jr. scored 19 points off the bench while Jordan Poole added ten points of his own for good measure.
By contrast, Luka Doncic was limited to 20 points and turned the ball over seven times. He also shot three for ten from beyond the three-point line. As a team, the Mavericks shot 22% from three, got out-rebounded (51-35), and allowed the Warriors to score 18 fastbreak points.
The Warriors also had ten more assists to the Mavs.
More importantly, as their coach alluded to, the Warriors’ championship experience has been the key to this current playoff run.
Experience Versus Luka
Many people doubted the Warriors’ ability to make a run at another championship as they haven’t looked the same since injuries began to pile up in 2019. Most fans even began to forget how lethal a healthy trio of Curry, Thompson, and Green could be as the trio struggled to all get healthy simultaneously.
Curry, who came off the bench in four playoff games this year, is averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.8 rebounds during the 2022 postseason. Thompson’s averages aren’t far back (19.3 points on 38.4% from three).
Green’s contributions cannot be overlooked as he’s been doing a little bit of everything for the Warriors on both ends of the floor. He’s putting up eight points, 7.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.2 blocks, and 1.1 steals per game- a testament to his do-it-all mentality.
Not to mention their combined championship pedigree, which is coming in handy as they go up against younger foes in the playoffs. They don’t crack under pressure, as fans saw firsthand during their semifinal series against the Memphis Grizzlies.
On the other hand, this isn’t the Mavericks first time beginning a series with a loss this year. Dallas did it against the Phoenix Suns, and that series went to a Game Seven thanks in large part to Luka’s All-NBA level performances.
While Doncic is expected to have a much improved effort in Game Two, the Mavs will need more from the rest of the team if they want this series to go the distance. Dallas needs players like Jalen Brunson, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Reggie Bullock to make meaningful contributions if they hope to stand a chance against the Warriors.
Otherwise, it’s championship experience over Luka Doncic.
-Iggy Gonzales
Photo: Cyrus Saatsaz. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.