The Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks head to Game 4 this Wednesday, with the former looking for a sweep and the latter aiming to extend their lives in the playoffs. Whose desire will get realized?
Catch this game live on Wednesday, May 25, at 9 AM, Manila time.
Away: Golden State Warriors (3-0/1-0 Away)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Draymond Green
- C: Kevon Looney
There’s already been a blown 3-1 series lead in NBA Playoffs history but no team has ever survived a 3-0 deficit, so you could say that the Warriors are virtually assured of a seat in the 2022 NBA Finals. But can they finish the job against Dallas in four games? Looks like they could, given the way Golden State is ripping the Mavs apart in the Western Conference Finals. Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Kevon Looney have all been incredible in providing support for Stephen Curry, but it’s also just the collective approach of the Warriors in exposing Dallas’ weakness defensively that is propelling Golden State.
The Mavs barely have any resistance in the paint, allowing Golden State to almost score at will in the paint. Rebounding is also being dominated by the Warriors, who are the No. 1 team in rebound rate among the four teams remaining in title contention. All signs point to a Warriors series win, and there are not a lot of strong reasons based on their recent performances to believe that they can’t take down the Mavs for good this Wednesday. The Warriors are 15-5-1 in their last 21 games in the conference finals round.
Home: Dallas Mavericks (0-3/0-1 Home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Jalen Brunson
- SF: Reggie Bullock
- PF: Dorian Finney-Smith
- C: Dwight Powell
Whatever the Mavs’ plans are for Game 4, those have to work because they now have no room for errors. All hands will have to be on deck for Dallas, with Luka Doncic’s support group needing to come out and play. In Game 3, Reggie Bullock and Maxi Kleber barely did anything outside of stretching the floor. The two had an atrocious combined shooting line of 0/15, including 12 missed shots from behind the arc. However, Jalen Brunson and Spencer Dinwiddie did not forget their talents at home, scoring 20 and 26 points in Game 3, respectively.
Outside of those two and Doncic, the Mavs got a steaming pile of nothingness from the rest, so expect Jason Kidd to reiterate the urgency for secondary scoring ahead of Game 4. It all boils down to making their shots for the Mavs. As cliche as that sounds, the Mavs are getting open looks but aren’t just making a lot of them. But the Mavs might put more emphasis on being aggressive in Game 4 to get more shots from the free-throw line after seeing the success Dinwiddie had in Game 3 where he went 8/8 from the foul line. The Mavericks are 5-1 ATS in their last six games as the home team.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Mavs win and cover (-1.5).
Over/Under: Taking the Under (215.0) here.
