The shorthanded Golden State Warriors entered Thursday's game against the Dallas Mavericks with no traditional center available in their lineup. This meant Draymond Green would be required to log some heavy minutes at the five spot. The former NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner was certainly up to the challenge, as proved by his emphatic finish over Mavs star Luka Doncic in the first quarter of action.

Draymond Green wanted to send a message early in the contest, and he did just that with an impressive fast-break slam over an onlooking Doncic (h/t Dime on Twitter):

James Wiseman, Kevon Looney, and Eric Paschall were all out of action in this one, which meant that Dubs head coach Steve Kerr had to rely on his small-ball tactic against the Mavs. This meant that Draymond Green was going to play a ton of minutes at the five — something that he has found success in in the past.

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Draymond Green and Co. entered Thursday's matchup coming off a narrow 111-107 loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. The Warriors look to get back to winning ways against a struggling Mavs side, which have lost six out of their last seven games.

The Warriors are 11-10, currently just out of one of the eight playoff positions in the Western Conference. Yet, they are just half a game behind the sixth-place Phoenix Suns in the crowded standings. The Warriors are within legitimate striking distance of fifth-place Memphis as well, so it's not as though Golden State and Draymond Green are in especially bad position for a playoff berth. What merits concern, however, is that the Dubs will be fighting with a lot of different West teams for a playoff spot. Any lost leverage in the standings will mean Steve Kerr's team might have to jump over several opponents just to make the postseason.

Draymond Green will fight to make sure the Warriors can position themselves well heading into the stretch run later this year.