They had us in the first half, not gonna lie
Looney career night, resilient Warriors withstand Dallas push
There is something extra satisfying about watching homegrown talent thrive. Tonight was the best game of Kevon Looney’s career and, the Golden State Warriors managed to eek out a win after being down for most of the game thanks in no small part to Looney’s big night.
21 points and 12 rebounds!
Of course, none of this would be possible if the big guns weren’t hitting, and tonight they were on. Dallas showed that tough defense that we were promised, but in the end, it wasn’t enough to slow the Warriors’ roll. Check out those efficiency stats:
The Warriors will take a day to fly to Dallas and resume the action on Sunday.
I’d normally cut the quick recap right there, but have a little extra to talk about tonight.
First of all, Damion Lee’s minutes were an abomination. Bad enough to force Kerr to reluctantly release a rookie into the playoffs, as he went with Moses Moody late in the game. Lee has been one of the trusted veterans around these parts over the past couple of seasons, due in no small part to the fact that there simply weren’t better options available. A significant turning point in the game was the start of the second quarter, when Dallas pushed out to a big advantage in the minutes that both Curry and Doncic were off the floor.
Kuminga, athletic and full of promise, is still getting lost on off-ball defense a little too frequently for comfort - especially in the playoffs. But Moody came in late with a couple of valuable minutes. Coach Steve Kerr has tightened his rotation significantly, but you can’t run seven deep all the time.
Draymond Green got into stupid foul trouble early. He will always toe that edge, but in an important game where the referees are making bad calls all over the place, maybe don’t take it all so personal? Thankfully, Looney and the rest of the Warriors picked up the slack, but this team will need Green.
But they don’t need him like this:
Last quick thought: the Mavs are going to keep having a bad time trying to contain the Warriors guard trio. There’s just too many quick, lethal options.
Jordan Poole had a great game, but behind the numbers, I think the Mavs are going back home doing a lot of head scratching trying to figure out how to slow this man down.
https://mobile.twitter.com/fearluka/status/1527859296163069953
Curry and Kerr. Watch this every day forever.
Mavs Athletic writer on why the Mavs went back to attacking Looney in the 2nd half:
“Golden State reacted in the third quarter by moving Curry onto Dorian Finney-Smith, a slower-releasing shooter who doesn’t cause such panic when relocating from the ball. It’s probably why Dončić went from attacking Wiggins to seeking out Looney switches. Without Bullock’s disruptive gravity, Wiggins re-established proper defensive positioning against Dončić more often.”
Link ($): https://theathletic.com/3325805/2022/05/21/mavericks-warriors-game-2/