The Golden State Warriors lost their chance to sweep the Dallas Mavericks out of the NBA playoffs in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. The Mavs stood up and prevented their elimination with a 119-109 win.
The Mavs picked up the pace and made their 3-point shots in Game 4, converting 20 of their 43 attempts from deep. Luka Doncic led the 2ay with 30 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists while Dorian Finney-Smith scored 23 points. Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 20 points and eight assists while Jonathan Kuminga scored 17 points off the bench.
As the series heads back to the Bay Area, the Warriors have to learn from their mistakes. They can't let this Mavs team get their momentum back. Although they have all the control over the series, the Mavs don't believe that. Dallas has shown it isn't afraid when its back is against the wall.
There are several adjustments for the Warriors to make before Thursday night's Game 5.
3 biggest adjustments Warriors must make to finish off Mavs in Game 5
3. Slow down the Mavs' 3-point barrage
Dallas had it going from beyond the arc all game long. The Warriors tried several different defenses but couldn't do much to slow down the Mavs' perimeter shooting. That has to change.
The Warriors have to get back to playing defense with energy. They have to fly around the perimeter to deter shooters and make Doncic's supporting cast useless. The Mavs gave them a prime example of how to make sure the opponent can't get a clean shot off. The Dubs should embrace the copy-cat nature of the NBA and do that.
Dallas defense is *flying* around, look at it. pic.twitter.com/6SsFfWUzxK
— Steve Jones Jr. (@stevejones20) May 25, 2022
Getting Otto Porter and Gary Payton II back would be very helpful for the Warriors' defense. Porter should be able to bounce back but Payton will probably not be ready. Whoever is ready to play for the Dubs has to make sure that players like Finney-Smith and Reggie Bullock aren't the Splash Brothers of a particular game.
2. Help Stephen Curry on defense
In this year's playoffs, Curry has had a lot of promising moments on defense. Game 4 was not one of them, as the Mavs targeted him often and overpowered him to get into the lane.
On several occasions, Curry was unable to keep his man in front of him and was inconsistent when contesting 3-pointers. The Warriors need the screen-dodging, shot-contesting Curry to return and make it tougher for the Mavs to get clean looks at the hoop.
This is on Curry, he should have gotten a stunt from Green in the corner but he still has to keep coming. Too easy for Luka pic.twitter.com/LzLvdb8ODH
— Mo Dakhil (@MoDakhil_NBA) May 25, 2022
The Warriors should also do what they can to put Curry in favorable matchups. Switching him onto Doncic is doing him and the team a disservice. To Curry's credit, the Warriors are tasking him with flashing a double on defense before quickly recovering to his original matchup. He has done this job pretty well and Steve Kerr needs to make sure he is put in a position to do that rather than guard Doncic and Jalen Brunson, both of whom can easily out-muscle him.
1. Covert more shots at the rim
The Warriors shot most of their shots from the rim in Game 4, according to Cleaning the Glass. They shot 38 percent of their field goals within four feet of the basket. They made only 63 percent of those looks, an inefficient mark that hobbled their offense. While the Mavs launched triples with great efficiency, the Warriors were struggling to convert on the most efficient shot in the game.
Golden State has greatly benefited from Kevon Looney but they may have to shelve him a bit more in order to open up the lane on offense. With the Mavs luring Looney out to the perimeter and scoring nearly at will, it may be time to find a smaller role for him and use Kuminga and/or small-ball lineups more often. Sacrificing Looney's presence on the boards for more space on offense should be explored.
The Warriors have the talent, matchup capabilities and style of play to make quick work of the Mavs in this series.
Follow Us
Subscribe