NBA Playoffs: Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors Game 1 Preview, Odds, Prediction

The Golden State Warriors and the Dallas Mavericks play in the Western Conference finals. Seeing Luka going against the Splash Brothers+Jordan Poole will be interesting. The clash between Jason Kidd and Steve Kerr should be arousing as well. These two guys are very creative and we’ve seen that in the past already. Golden State is the favorite, and they have the home-court advantage, which is at this stage valuable. Still, the Mavs eliminated the best team in the league during the regular part of the season. Why not beat another opponent.

Preview

Dallas Mavericks (+185) showed character and fighting mentality in Game 7 against the Phoenix Suns. They went out to humiliate the team who was more than confident in the previous three events at home against Luka and his crew. Plus, until Game 3, the Suns beat the Mavs nine times in a row.

But Spencer Dinwiddie showed up, going out and scoring 30 points off the bench, missing four of his 15 shots, pouring baskets from all over the place. His contribution in this series will maybe be vital for the Mavs’ ambitions to reach the finals. He will have to step up and replace Luka and Brunson in certain sequences, and the fact that he goes on Poole or Curry explains the significance of his role.

Luka scores 31 points per game, but unlike before, his presence is felt on the defensive side of the ball. Overall, the Mavs are rock-solid in defense, and there are just a few teams in the league like them this season. In Games 6 and 7 against the Mavs, they allowed 86 and 90 points, respectively.

Golden State Warriors (-225) have beaten the Grizzlies in six games, but we need to add that it wasn’t as simple as many would think. Game 5 slipped from the Grizzlies’ hands, and if that one went on their side, things would be completely different.

As said so many times before, besides Klay and Steph, Jordan Poole is the main force in the attack. His 19.3 points are the difference on the court, as well as the defensive effort he provides. When playing with Andrew Wiggins on the court, the Warriors have an incredibly athletic lineup, and it is hard for any team to secure the rebound or get closer to the basket.

We will see how the Warriors respond to the Mavs’ tough defense, as they did have certain problems against the Grizzlies in the moments when the long-distance shooting stopped.

Head to Head Games

The Mavericks and the Warriors met four times during the regular part of the season. Dallas won on three occasions, and their only loss was in San Francisco. They are one of few teams against whom the Warriors had a negative record during the regular part of the campaign.

Prediction

We are giving the Warriors an edge here because of the home court. Beating them at Chase Center in the playoffs is a challenging task. Also, the fact that the Mavericks played seven games against the Suns and had less time to recover will play a big role here. The odds on the Warriors’ win are at -225.

Pick: Golden State Warriors -225