You’ve heard of middle-aged men coping with a mid-life crisis? Maybe buying a new sports car or a cabin at the lake?
Well, the Golden State Warriors are trying their best to hold on to their youth.
The Mavericks on Sunday will visit the four-time NBA champion Warriors, who still have Steph Curry and Draymond Green, but are getting longer in the tooth by the game.
Yet they are positioned right next to the Mavericks in the Western Conference standings.
This game wasn’t on the schedule a week ago, but when the Mavericks lost to Oklahoma City and the Warriors were nudged by the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, the two teams who did not advance to the Cup Nights semifinals were paired against each other.
The Warriors at one time were 12-3 and gaining credibility as a title contender, even if their core is on the downhill side of their careers. But Golden State has dropped seven of its last nine games and slipped to fifth in the Western Conference, a peg below the Mavericks.
“They play hard,” P.J. Washington said. “Last game we played them, they had a lot of offensive rebound. We lost by three, so it was a good game.”
Washington did not play in that game, sidelined by an illness. It’s worth noting that the Mavericks are 1-5 in games Washington has missed this season and 15-4 when he plays.
“We’ve been without someone (a lot),” coach Jason Kidd said. “It’s always next-man-up. It gave O-Max (Prosper) an opportunity. We’re happy to have P.J. back. We need him to do what he’s been doing for us.”
Here’s a few other things to watch for when the Mavericks make this one-game trip to the coast – which by the way, actually is an extension of the trip that already has gone to Washington and Toronto, plus the Cup Night Quarterfinal game at OKC:
- The Mavericks will be without Naji Marshall (illness), Jaden Hardy (ankle) and Maxi Kleber (illness) all will miss Sunday’s game. For the Warriors, De’Anthony Melton (knee) is out for the season and Andrew Wiggins (ankle) is day-to-day.
- It’ll be interesting to see the reception Klay Thompson gets on his second visit to the Bay Area. After 13 years with the Warriors, he was given a her0’s welcome during the first Mavericks’ trip there this season.
- Though he still is a significant way away from making his season debut, guard Dante Exum has been ramping up his left-handed court work. Exum suffered a broken bone in his right wrist in preseason and while he’s been recovering from surgery, he’s had time to work on his left-hand skills. “He’s done a lot of work with the left hand,” Kidd said. “He’ll be able to go both ways. But his attitude – he’s been working extremely hard. He looks great. It’s a good time for him to work on his left hand.”
- The turnover bug has been almost as much of a nuisance as the actual illness running through the locker room. The Mavericks have averaged 14.4 miscues per game and lately, it’s been worse (17.1 since Nov. 25). “It’s things that we can fix,” Kidd said. “Especially if we’re getting stops. A lot of our turnovers are after we get a stop, the throw-aheads are being intercepted, so we just have to be a little better with that.”
- The Warriors are led by Curry at 22.8 points per game and Wiggins at 17.2. They have gotten a nice boost off the bench, usually, from Buddy Hield, who is averaging 14.5 points and shooting nearly 43 percent from three-point range.
- Pace will be important. The Mavericks want to push it and the Warriors almost stole a win in Houston by slowing the pace. “Golden State and Houston’s halftime score was 37-44,” Kidd said. “When I played, that was a high-scoring half. And the team that got to 44 at half had a better chance to get to 80 and that was going to be the final. So it just shows how the game has changed from the late-‘90s to now. It’s changed for the better.”
- At 2.1 steals per game, Luka Dončić is second in the league in thefts behind Atlanta’s Dyson Daniels. “The activity, getting steals, helping our defense, he’s been doing that at a high level,” Kidd said. “He’s going to be involved in a lot of plays, so he’s doing a great job positioning (himself) and guarding the ball. Being active with his hands, he’s coming up with a lot of steals right now.”
MAVERICKS (16-9) at GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS (14-10)
WHEN: 7:30 p.m., Sunday.
WHERE: Chase Center, San Francsico
TV: KFAA-29, MavsTV Stream, NBA TV
RADIO: KEGL 97.1 FM, 99.1 FM Zona MX (Spanish)
X: @ESefko
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