Sportsmeat

Surely you didn't think that I wouldn't highlight my earlier post on the possibility of Warrior success versus the Mavs? My adopted team has shown well this series. True, they are coming off a tough loss last night, but I challenge anyone who watched that game to tell me that the Mavs were the better team.

Even in their losses, I felt that the Warriors played better for the majority of each game. In Dallas' Game 2 win, the Warriors were right there with the desperate Mavs, on the Mavs' home court, before they lost their cool (albeit the Warriors' self-destruction that game was somewhat justified - the officiating that game was atrocious. After the W's took a 60-58 lead early in the third, the Mavs shot the next 16 free throws of the game, helping give Dallas a 13 point lead by the end of the third (and causing Davis and Jackson to go insane)).

Last night's game was interesting in that it followed a classic NBA formula: Home team jumps out to a 15-20 point lead with the help of an amped-up crowd, visiting team chips away at the lead to bring it back even, home team makes a couple plays at the end to pull it out. The only strange thing is, when games like these happen, the home team is always the underdog. Always. Which made me realize something for the first time last night - the Warriors are better than the Mavericks. They simply are. If these teams would play 100 times, the Warriors would win 70. The Warriors are more athletic, while the Mavs are more skilled. But - not to get too alpha male on you - it all comes down to sack. The Warriors have it. The Mavs don't. All eight Warriors play fearlessly, attacking and not worrying about mistakes. The same can only be said for Josh Howard and Jason Terry on Dallas' side. Dallas' caution, indecision, and general lack of confidence has been their downfall.

For the majority of last night's game, from early in the second quarter until the final three minutes, the Warriors dominated, outscoring the Mavs 80-50. Then, the two teams virtually switched identities. Don Nelson took his foot off the gas pedal. With three minutes left and his team up 9, he pulled in the reins and clearly instructed the team to run down the clock. The Warriors ran 1-4 sets on offense the rest of the way (with the exception of one ugly post-up by Jason Richardson). Not coincidentally, the Warriors did not score again.

Now, you might think that this is the biased opinion of a sore loser. And you'd probably be right. Clearly, some credit must go to Dirk, who made three consecutive huge plays (two three pointers sandwiching a blocked layup - the only shot in the last three minutes that the Warriors took while going to the bucket). But even with Dirk's heroics, I don't think the Mavs would have had a chance at winning if the Warriors kept attacking.

The bottom line, though, is that the Warriors are still in good shape. They are heading to Oakland, where their home court advantage has been as big as any that I've ever seen in the NBA. They have to be feeling pretty confident after destroying Dallas for much of the game. And what's more? BT will be there on Thursday, making some noise for the home team.

Revised prediction: Warriors in 6.

Labels: BT Gloating, Dirk Nowitzki, Mavericks, Playoff Basketball, Warriors