First they had to win nine of ten just to make the playoffs. Then they had to face the Mavs, the #1 seed in the West (and the consensus best team in the league). But Golden State just seems to have Dallas’ number. This year, they won all three regular season meetings and, counting the playoffs, have won six of the last seven games against the Mavs.
Golden State is a small, athletic team that plays at a frenetic pace both offensively and defensively. Head coach Don Nelson (who used to coach Dallas) loves to utilize gimmick defenses and has thrown the Mavs completely off their game. Likely MVP Dirk Nowitzki has been limited by the Warriors’ scrambling, in-your-face defense and is completely out of rhythm. He’s no longer getting that famous post up at the free throw line. The Warriors are running a double team at him just about every time he catches the ball and they’ve got the team speed to recover when he elects to pass instead of shoot.
Offensively, Baron Davis is playing out of his mind. At the end of the second quarter he hit a 45-foot desperation three to tie the game going into halftime, and at the end of the third quarter he stole the ball and flushed it home to give Golden State the momentum going into the final period. Finally, with time winding down in the fourth, he hit a long jumpshot over Devin Harris to seal the game.
But the Warriors are not all Davis. They’ve got loads of young, athletic wing players – Monta Ellis, Jason Richardson, Stephen Jackson, Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes – along with a bit of an inside presence in Al Harrington and Andris Biedrins, which gives Nelson the pieces he needs to give the Mavs fits.
Golden State leads the series, 3-1, but still has to get one more win. Two of the last three games are in Dallas. Tuesday’s Game 5 (9:30 PM ET, TNT) should be very interesting. The Mavs are in a very tough spot – how will they respond?
