After Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks laid a severe beating on the Phoenix Suns in round 1, the NBA world felt that they might be the perfect antidote to their next playoff opponent, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors, who are being led by a rejuvenated Stephen Curry, were lights out in Game 1, whopping the Mavericks by a score of 112-87.
It’s an understatement to say that the NBA world was surprised, especially because of the momentum the Mavericks had heading into the game. I actually wasn’t taken that aback, because I had seen this scenario play out in many NHL series. A team will play an amazing, emotionally charged game, and then the next game they’d come out flat because they gave all their energy and emotion in the last game.
This game 1 shouldn’t be an indicator of things to come for Dallas, and I believe it was simply a one-off. The Mavericks will bounce back and will take this series to at least 6, or even a final decisive seventh game. Why is that? Well, they have the best player under 25 on their team, Luka Doncic. Doncic crafted his game in the Euroleague, leading the league in scoring and winning MVP; all before his 18th birthday.
Luka is a straight-up baller, and won’t go down without a fight. What will stand in his way is the insane depth that the Warriors carry with them. The Warriors have so much more to their team than Steph, Klay, and Draymond. Their role players have stepped up in a huge way, and you can say that their bench squad is better than some NBA teams starting lineups.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Mavericks don’t have that depth and scoring coming off the bench. Do they have lethal first, second, and third scoring options? Absolutely. Do they have much else? Not really, and that will be detrimental to them as they head into games four and five. Another reason why the Warriors may seemingly dominate this series is because of their defense on Luka Doncic.
Doncic is known to play “slow offense” which means he moves at a turtles pace but is lethal. The way this works is because NBA defenses are used to high octane, intense players who move at a quick pace. Doncic disrupting this flow confuses them, and it works in his favor. In game 1, the Warriors matched this with “slow defense” guarding Doncic lazily, which threw him off. If the Warriors keep on getting Doncic off his game, it’s lights out for the Mavericks.
So, to sum up, what we all want to know, no, I don’t see the Mavericks winning this series. Do they make it interesting? Yes, but not more than that. Who do you think will win the series? Let me know in the comments below!