The Dallas Mavericks are on a tailspin. As one of the most disappointing teams so far this season, Luka Doncic and the Mavs will look to avenge their loss to the Golden State Warriors during the first leg of this back-to-back set.
Catch this game live on Sunday, February 7, at 9:30 AM, Manila time
HOME TEAM: Dallas Mavericks (9-14, 2-7 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
PG: Luka Doncic
SG: Josh Richardson
PF: Maxi Kleber
PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
C: Kristaps Porzingis
The Mavericks were taken to the woodshed by Golden State last Friday, as Luka Doncic and company took a 147-116 loss to the undermanned and undersized Warriors team at home. Luka Doncic looked like he tried too hard to carry his team.
He had 27 points but shot 8 of 20 from the field and committed five turnovers. On top of that, he finished the game with a minus-28. It’s easy to pin the blame for the Mavs’ woes on Doncic, but the team’s problem goes beyond their star. In the Warriors game, Dallas failed to capitalize on its glaring size advantage against a team that had no legitimate active center. Instead, the Mavs tried to play the pace Golden State pretty much preferred to counter Dallas’ beefier lineup.
If they learned their lesson from that loss, the Mavericks should look to slow down the game this Sunday and shoot fewer threes to avoid the Warriors from getting those long rebounds that can spark fast break opportunities for Stephen Curry and company.
Dallas took more threes (50) than twos (42), underscoring how the Mavs failed to take advantage of the size mismatch. The over is 4-1 in Dallas’ last five games as the home team.
ROAD TEAM: Golden State Warriors (12-10, 4-5 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
PG: Stephen Curry
SG: Kelly Oubre Jr.
SF: Juan Toscano-Anderson
SF: Andrew Wiggins
PF: Draymond Green
Golden State was the toast of the underdogs on Friday, with their win over the Mavs. Expected by many to flounder against the bigger, heftier Dallas team, the Warriors managed to pull off an upset win, thanks in large part to Kelly Oubre Jr.’s career night.
Oubre scored a career-high 40 points on 14-of-21 shooting from the field, including a 7-of-10 clip from deep. Oubre has been tirelessly pelted on social media for his awful perimeter shooting numbers this season, but Friday’s game was a reminder that he can be an offensive juggernaut himself.
Oubre isn’t likely to shoot that well again, but he has to keep that aggressive mindset on offense to keep the Mavs’ defense honest and take some of the attention away from Curry. Draymond Green, who had 11 points and 15 assists in the win over Dallas, should be a problem once again for the Mavs. Green toyed with the Mavs’ frontcourt, which seemed to have no idea how to deal with the former Defensive Player of the Year.
The Warriors look to push the pace in this rematch after outsourcing the Mavs in transition on Friday, 24-4. Dallas is just 2-7 against the spread at home so Warriors spread bettors should like their chances.
PREDICTIONS:
Dallas should learn the lesson from Friday’s loss to the Warriors. Expect them to pound the ball more inside and draw fouls from the Warriors’ already banged-up frontcourt in notching a 120-112 win.
