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After taking a shot at Memphis during the Western Conference semifinals, Klay Thompson continued to talk about having something to prove. He, Stephen Curry and Draymond Green had played many different kinds of playoffs with Golden State and won three of them all, but still felt something was missing.
“I think we still need to prove that we want to go down as some big guys,” Thompson said. “And the bigs have won over the decades and we haven’t won in the 2020s yet. So it’s there for us.”
Nothing definitive this year, but the next step in their quest will begin on Wednesday when they face the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.
Dallas and Golden State upset the high-numbered teams in a tense conference semifinal series. 4 core Dallas beat premier Phoenix Suns 7. Dominating the game, the Mavericks were leading by 46 points in the second half. 3-seeded Golden State won a contentious match against the second-seeded Memphis Grizzlies in a six-game series.
What awaits you in the Western Conference finals?
Which players are important to watch?
Curry, Thompson and Green have spent their entire careers with the Warriors and are chasing a legacy-defining end-of-season run. Despite missing 18 games in the NBA this season, Curry is the top three-pointer with 285. He became the star of the league in the fall. Career leader in 3-point shootingHe beats Ray Allen.
Golden State also has third-year guard Jordan Poole, who blossomed this season and made 51 appearances. He even started several games ahead of Curry in the playoffs as Curry came back from an injury. Golden State also has Andrew Wiggins, who has played better than he is often praised. He’s been an effective rebounder and a key defender for Golden State.
The Mavericks are led by Luka Doncic, who averaged 31.5 points per game in the playoffs and scored 45 points in Game 1 of Dallas’ series against Phoenix. He closed the series with 27 points in the first half of Game 7 – as many as the entire Suns team scored. Quarterback Jalen Brunson also had a remarkable season-ending. He averages 22.9 points per game in the playoffs, up from his regular season average of 16.3.
Do these teams have a playoff history?
He’s pretty remarkable.
Golden State’s 2006-7 team is known in Warriors lore as the We Believe team. Led by Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson, he needed an end-of-season push to make it to the playoffs. There, Golden State met the top number one Dallas team, which made it to the NBA finals the previous season and lost to the Miami Heat.
Dallas reloaded for the 2006-7 season, setting the league’s best record of 67-15. Dirk Nowitzki wins the league’s Most Valuable Player Award. The Mavericks did not lose a single game in February. What happened next made it even more shocking.
In the playoffs, 8-seeded Golden State beat Dallas in six games. The spell was short-lived as the Warriors lost their second-round series to the Utah Jazz in five games, but the We Believe team season remains meaningful to Golden State fans. It was also Golden State’s last game against Dallas in the playoffs.
What has Golden State been doing since passing the title?
After five NBA finals games in a row, the luck – for a moment, at least – has run out starting 2019.
Thompson and Kevin Durant both suffered major injuries in the 2019 finals against Toronto. Thompson tore his left anterior cruciate ligament and Durant tore his right Achilles tendon, then went free agent to the Nets. Curry broke his left hand in the fourth game of the 2019-20 season and played only one more game that season. Without Curry and Thompson, Golden State missed the playoffs.
Then, Thompson tore his right Achilles tendon while recovering from an anterior cruciate ligament injury and missed the 2020-21 season as well. Golden State did slightly better last season, finishing eighth in the West, but missing the playoffs after losing in the play-in tournament.
While the Warriors waited, they added talented young players like Poole, James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga to round out their star. Wiseman came out with injuries, but Poole and Wiseman were key players. Older than Kuminga, Poole, and Wiseman but eventually finding a stable NBA job at age 29 this season, Gary Payton II was a frustrating defensive lineman until he broke his elbow against the Grizzlies in the conference semifinals. Golden State’s two-year absence from the playoffs has given their stars a growing appreciation for their return this year.
What’s new in Mavericks?
They have a new coach at Jason Kidd. He made two appearances for the Mavericks, including a second pick in 1994. Kidd worked as an assistant coach with the Lakers for two seasons before Dallas hired him to replace longtime coach Rick Carlisle last summer.
The Mavericks also rocked their roster this season, trading Kristaps Porzingis to the Wizards in exchange for Spencer Dinwiddie and Davis Bertans. This was a clear indication that their team had given Doncic the reins. Dinwiddie was also a key part of Dallas’ game 7 win against the Suns, scoring 30 points.
What gives Golden State an advantage?
The team is a unique amalgamation between former and first-time post-season teams and juniors with playoff experience. It’s tough to compete against this combination: Curry, Green and Thompson can give Golden State’s young players a crash course in how to win in the playoffs. Young players offer a cushion when veterans need to recharge.
Now that Curry and Thompson are healthy, they’re still playing at All-Star levels.
What gives Dallas the advantage?
It’s tempting to just write “Luka Doncic” and call it a day, but that doesn’t give enough credit to the well-rounded Mavericks team that defensively smothered the Suns in the conference semifinals. Although Dallas’ defensive rating for the season was similar to Golden State’s, the Mavericks closed the year with strong defensive performances.
Stopping Doncic will be a challenge for Golden State, as Dallas’ offense is almost entirely over him. Doncic is third in the NBA in points per game and fifth in assists per game this season. He’s a generational talent that welcomes the pressure of big moments.
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