Warriors Dominate Injured Mavs: How Long Can the Mavs Survive Without a Center?
In an important matchup in the latter half of the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors beat the Mavericks in a 126-102 blowout. The Mavs would start out with a 9-4 lead but quickly got halted and held to their lowest points in the first quarter all season. Both teams had come into this game having won four out of their last five after the trade deadline, with the only difference being the Warriors’ acquisition of Jimmy Butler playing, and the Mavericks’ main pickup in Anthony Davis being out with injury. The Mavericks are now 31-28 and remain in the eighth spot in the West by half a game over the Warriors at 30-27.
Jimmy Butler Makes the Warriors A Different Beast
The Jimmy Butler experience continued in this game against the Mavericks, putting up a stat line of 18 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Jimmy’s energy with the roster however has been the most noticeable thing, as the Warriors, and specifically with the renewed confidence of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Brandin Podziemski. Curry specifically has looked much more like the superstar he is, averaging just over 30 points a game in the month of February. The non-Curry minutes have also been a huge thing for the Warriors since the Butler trade, with Jimmy having a massive +21 box plus-minus in the first half compared to a slightly lower +6 for Curry. Every game since Jimmy Butler has looked significantly better than the previous iteration of the Warriors with Butler getting the team to the free-throw line, something the team hasn’t had in years. In the six games Butler has been there, he has 55 free throws, making 49 of them. If Jimmy can keep playing with this type of energy, the sky is the limit for the Warriors.
The Mavericks Can’t Win with Injuries
While this game was so out of hand it might not have shown it as well, the issues when it has come to the Mavericks’ injuries with their bigs have become an issue. Against the Warriors, it showed constantly, with Kevon Looney and Quinten Post being able to dominate the paint without any center presence for the Mavericks. With current long-term injuries to Anthony Davis, Derick Lively II, and Daniel Gafford, it looks like they are going to have this problem for a couple more weeks, an issue that they might not be able to contain. Even with the Mavericks being 4-1 in their last five before this game, it relied on their excellent shooting nights from behind the arc, something that will be harder to reach as the opposing teams get into playoff mode. Mavs stars Kyrie Irving and Klay Thompson seemed to struggle the most with this, combining for just five points on two of 13 shooting in the first half before the game got out of hand. If Jason Kidd and the Mavs can’t figure out how to adapt into a zone or switch defense, it could cost them a few games, games they can’t afford to lose in a tight Western Conference. With the Mavs not really playing a bigger threat until the Bucks on March 1st, they might be able to hold on, but the closer it gets to the playoffs, the more the need for the big men to be healthy.
The Play-In Tournament’s Effect is Shown
Besides the fact that it was another homecoming game for Klay Thompson and the postgame jersey retirement for Warriors legend Andre Iguodala, this game would normally not be that competitive. As many have complained this season, both these teams are accustomed to just chucking up threes, a style that has worked at times, but created low-energy atmospheres. Due to the tightness of the Western Conference with around 25 games left per team, the energy was present in Chase Center. While the game did get out of hand, the playoff-type intensity on both sides was there throughout the whole game, with both teams aware of the impact one or two losses can have on their playoff push. With the Warriors and Mavericks just one and a half games out of avoiding the play-in, as well as just three games in front of the Suns and not even having a chance at the playoffs, every game matters, and the fans inside the stadium knew as much as everyone. With Butler’s first game in Chase Center being against the former splash bro, this game was set to be a national television game and didn’t disappoint in terms of the effort from all players.
