The Golden State Warriors will look to make it three in a row, as they host the Dallas Mavericks this coming Wednesday at Chase Center. Will the Warriors level their regular-season series with Dallas? Or will the Mavs go 2-0 on Golden State this season?
Catch this game live on Wednesday, January 26, at 11 AM, Manila time.
Away: Dallas Mavericks (27-20/12-11 on the road)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Luka Doncic
- SG: Jalen Brunson
- SF: Dorian Finney-Smith
- PF: Kristaps Porzingis
- C: Dwight Powell
The Mavericks sizzled anew Monday, as they rebounded from a 109-10 loss to the Phoenix Suns by silencing Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies in a 104-91 victory to coles out a five-game homestand. Now begins a short two-game road trip for the Mavs, who seem to love being in the Bay Area. The Mavericks are 4-0 straight up in their last four games in Oakland and 5-0 against the spread in their last five there, dating back to 2018. The last time they visited Golden State, the Mavericks eked out an easy 133-103 victory in April 2021.
As for the most recent game between these teams, it was still Dallas that stood out, beating the Warriors at home earlier this month to the tune of a 99-82 score – and that when the Mavs didn’t even have Kristaps Porzingis. This time, Porzingis is healthy and ready to give Dallas a boost against the Warriors after scoring 15 points to go with six blocks in the Grizzlies game. But the real asset for the Mavs of late is their defense. In fact, Dallas owns the best defense this month, posting a 98.8 defensive rating – the lowest in the NBA so far in January.
Home: Golden State Warriors (34-13/21-4 at home)
Projected Starting Five:
- PG: Stephen Curry
- SG: Klay Thompson (questionable)
- SF: Andrew Wiggins
- PF: Jonathan Kuminga
- C: Kevon Looney
The Warriors are slowly finding consistency again after a shaky start to the year. Following a 4-5 stretch in their first nine games this January, the Warriors have gone 3-1 straight up. They are also on a mini two-game unbeaten run, having defeated the Houston Rockets (105-93) and the Utah Jazz (94-92) last Saturday and Monday, respectively. That’s despite Stephen Curry not playing to his usual standards. Over the last four Warriors games, Curry has averaged 23.0 points but shot just 36.7 FG% and 30 3FG%.
He took a sharp nosedive in the Jazz game in which he scored 13 points on 5/20 shooting from the field and 1/13 from behind the arc. Curry is human after all, but the Warriors are going to need him to be more accurate to loosen up Dallas’ stingy defense. Then again, he went just 5/24 in the first meeting with the Mavs and drained only one of his nine attempts from behind the arc. Otto Porter Jr., Andrew Wiggins, and Jordan Poole are all capable scorers of their own, so look for them to step up if Curry’s malaise on offense continues and if Klay Thompson (knee soreness) misses another game. The Warriors are 2-2-1 ATS in their last four games overall.
PREDICTIONS:
Spread: The Mavericks’ defense has been phenomenal, to say the least. With Curry struggling to shoot the ball and Golden State still missing Draymond Green, while also trying to get Klay Thompson to his top form, it doesn’t look too good for the Warriors in this game. It makes sense to pick the Mavs spread of up to +5.5.
Over/Under: Neither team scored over 100 points in their last matchup. They’re just two teams with sound defenses. Taking the Under (211.5) here.