Right now, the Dallas Mavericks are better than the Golden State Warriors.
The Dubs fell to Dallas for the second time in a week on Thursday, losing 122-113 despite a furious comeback in the fourth quarter.
It was a game of two teams going in opposite directions. The Warriors are reeling without Draymond Green, while the Mavericks look reborn with a healthy Luka Doncic (41 points) and new acquisition Spencer Dinwiddie (17 points).
The Warriors (43-20) are now just a half-game up on the Grizzlies for the second seed in the West, and have won just three of their last 10 games. Dallas (38-25) has risen to fifth in the West and has won eight of their last 10.
Here are three takeaways:
Warriors nearly turn the tables thanks to…Moses Moody??
Five days ago, the Mavericks won a game vs. the Warriors in which they trailed for three and a half quarters and were down by 21 at one point. On Thursday in Dallas, Golden State nearly flipped the script.
And as you’d expect, it was thanks to the offensive prowess of Moses Moody.
Okay, so maybe that’s one of the least likely scenarios you could have envisioned, but it somehow almost happened late in the fourth quarter.
Moody, who hadn’t scored in the game when he checked in, was nearly perfect for the game’s final 10 minutes. He had an assist on a Jonathan Kuminga 3 to cut the Dallas lead to six with 8:49. He hit a 3 with 6:57 left to cut the Dallas lead to three. He hit another one 30 seconds later to tie it.
He finished the quarter with 13 points, going 5-for-5 and adding two assists. Still it wasn’t enough.
That’s because Golden State just couldn’t turn off the faucet that was the Dallas offense on the other end. Luka Doncic, was unstoppable, either scoring on Stephen Curry via defensive switch, or kicking it to an open teammate when the defense closed in on him.
It also didn’t help that Curry, who had shot the ball well all game (8-for-15, 21 points), didn’t attempt a single shot in the fourth for only the third time in his career.
It was an especially frustrating outcome considering the Warriors offense, which has been highly inconsistent since before the all-star break, was humming. Golden State shot 54.3 percent from the field and went 15-of-30 from downtown. Jordan Poole, often a barometer for this GSW squad, was excellent, going 8-for-12 with 23 points.
But the defense just couldn’t stop anyone. The Mavs shot 52.9 percent and only turned it over nine times. It’s the reason they led all game, by 14 at halftime, and was the difference when things got tight down the stretch.
What to do about Luka?
Like he always does, Doncic killed the Warriors on Thursday night.
Golden State tried a number of tactics defensively. Andrew Wiggins started as the primary defender with limited success. Doncic dropped 19 in the first quarter, largely on a combination of step-back 3-pointers and drives to the hole after running off one or more screens.
Late in the quarter, Steve Kerr began double-teaming Doncic on the pick-and-roll, a cornerstone of the Dallas offense. This seemed to work for a bit, as did putting Gary Payton II on Luka in the second quarter. He scored just five points in the frame.
The defensive success didn’t last. The Warriors began the second half with Klay Thompson on Luka instead of Wiggins, but stopped double-teaming the pick-and-roll. Doncic cooked them, frequently getting the likes of Kevon Looney and Stephen Curry on the the switch and dominating.
This ended up being Golden State’s downfall in the fourth quarter, when Luka scored three easy buckets in the key, all on Curry.
The decision not to double looks more stark when compared to how Dallas dealt with Curry, throwing two men at him every time he touched the ball, a large part of the reason he attempted just 15 shots.
Center of defense is too soft
It’s clear by now that the Warriors defense just isn’t very good without Draymond Green.
The problems are myriad. The overall intensity is lower, there are no real answers when the Warriors face a skilled big and the ability to stop penetration is severely compromised.
That last issue was on stark display vs. the Mavs on Thursday, and probably the primary reason the Warriors were largely helpless against a Dallas offense that is in a serious groove.
The inability to stop drives didn’t just manifest itself in points in the paint, although Luka did feast a few times on easy drives to the rim. More of an issue was it made Golden State incredibly susceptible to the drive and kick, forcing the defense into a scramble that eventually led to an open look for the Mavs who shot 45.9 percent from downtown (17-for-37).
On one sequence early in the second quarter, the Warriors let Dallas get into the paint four separate times before giving up a bucket down low. Even when the defense is good, not stopping at the point of attack puts the Warriors behind the 8-ball, and unable to recover without their heartbeat.