Warriors-Mavericks: Only Dallas Looks Like A Playoff Team

With Dallas 0-10 with Jason Kidd against winning teams and Golden State getting lambasted the night before in San Antonio, Wednesday’s Mavs-Warriors game was a must win for both teams.

Despite the context only one team bothered showing up, and the Mavericks disintegrated the Warriors 111-86.

Dallas:

Dirk Nowitzki put on his best Willis Reed impersonation and gimped onto the court well ahead of his expected recovery time for his high ankle sprain. While his jumpers were flat and his mobility was compromised, Nowitzki efforted his way to 18 tough points on 6-15 shooting.

And though slow and ginger, Nowitzki nonetheless plead steadfast defense in the paint and hustled determinedly when making several defensive rotations. Even though Dirk wasn’t a huge factor on the court, his heroic presence inspired his teammates to play with confidence abounding.

Could it have been Dirk’s most courageous performance of his career?

Jason Kidd (1-6 FG, 11 REB, 17 AST, 4 STL, 5 TO, 5 PTS) was breathtaking. The majority of his assists came on the break where marvelous lead passes allowed Josh Howard and Jason Terry to gallop to the hoop in the open floor. When Dallas slowed things down, Kidd was able to penetrate at will and perfect passes routinely led to open looks. And while Kidd couldn’t contain Monta Ellis, he did have four steals and he did draw two important charges that kept the Warriors spirits sagged.

So what if Kidd can’t shoot straight? His passing and court-vision alone are good enough to be the sole factor in determining outcomes, the victory over Golden State no exception.

Energized from the get-go and allowed to go full-speed ahead on the break, Josh Howard (14-25 FG, 0-1 3FG, 7 REB, 5 AST, 28 PTS) and Jason Terry (11-21 FG, 3-9 3FG, 5 REB, 6 AST, 31 PTS) dominated the game with prolific scoring, plus Howard effectively shut down Stephen Jackson.

Erick Dampier boxed out, set screens, intimidated penetrators, and played like the physical presence Dallas needs him to be.

Even the ghost of Eddie Jones ( 5-10 FG, 3-5 3FG, 5 REB, 1 STL, 12 PTS) showed up, draining threes, chasing down rebounds, finishing alley-oops, and picking Stephen Jackson’s pocket on the way to a slammer.

The Mavericks executed brilliantly, ran the floor flawlessly, rotated timely, and challenged each and every Warriors shot. The Mavericks played exceptionally unselfish (35 assists to 45 field goals) and always looked to make the extra pass. Each player performed exactly how he needs to perform for the Mavericks to excel and Kidd’s brilliant passing set everything up.

In short, the Mavericks won because they played as if their playoff lives were at stake.

Golden State:

The helter-skelter Warriors came out in low gear and paid for it. Their offense to defense transitions were horrendously absent, their individual defense was non-existent, their offense was completely reliant on individual play. Most damning of all, they played like they didn’t think they belonged.

The only offense for Golden State came when Monta Ellis darted around screen/rolls or Baron Davis blindly put his head down in attempt to bully his way for a hoop.

Stephen Jackson (1-11 FG, 0-4 3FG, 5 REB, 2 AST, 2 STL, 2 TO, 2 PTS) played as if he were floating at sea and contemplating drowning. Golden State can live with Jackson being a black hole on offense with abhorrent shot selection, but Jackson’s defense on Howard was pathetic.

In fact, the only hints of toughness Jackson played with the entire game, were when he scowled at a referee who made a no-call on a drive, and when Jackson threw Jason Terry to the floor on a one-on-one break. When a team (or ref) doesn’t give in to Jackson’s bullying tactics, he becomes just another loser.

Al Harrington played a mistake filled game littered with silly fouls and missed layups. Harrington was pinballed around by Dirk and Dampier and was completely neutralized by Dallas’ energy. Harrington is another guy only plays well when things are going his way.

Matt Barnes’ (1-5 FG 2 PTS) confidence and playing time have evaporated.

The Warriors routinely ran nothing but isolations or rudimentary screen/rolls. While Davis and Ellis were able to have some successes, Golden State never ran any plays to get anybody else involved, except a single screen-the screener cut for Andres Biedrins which resulted in a foul. In fact, aside from Davis and Ellis, Golden State shot 13-50 from the floor.

The Warriors selfishness and lack of creativity resulted in their tallying only 10 assists. Their softness resulted in their losing the rebounding battle 56-38. Their utter disregard for defense resulted in 44 fast break points for Dallas combined to 16 for Golden State.

In short, the Warriors lost to Dallas for the same reasons that they beat Dallas in the playoffs last season and for the same reasons why they got shellacked in San Antonio by 24 the night before. When another team buckles down and plays championship-caliber basketball, Golden State can’t find it in their hearts to pull through.

With Dallas, Denver, and Golden State all with the same record fighting for the seventh and eight spots in the playoffs, Dallas won their first playoff game and Golden State lost theirs.