Golden State Warriors vs Dallas Mavericks Series Preview
A deep dive into the concepts, schemes and X's & O's between the Warriors & Mavericks.
After a tumultuous series with the tough Memphis Grizzlies (is tumultuous the right word for being blown out by 40 without Ja Morant?), the Warriors closed out game 6 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals to face the Mavericks. There were several interesting developments throughout the series against both the Nuggets & Grizzlies, but the main thing is that the trio of Klay/Steph/Draymond under Kerr still haven’t lost a playoff series outside of the NBA Finals.
The Mavericks destroyed the Suns in game 7 to win their series after both teams defended home court behind a ridiculous first half from Luka & a big game from Dinwiddie. Even with Luka missing the first 2 games of the Jazz series, they closed out the Jazz in 6 and again showcased the struggles against playing 5-Out. Showcasing an elite defensive gameplan to slow down both Chris Paul & Devin Booker throughout the series in combination with their ability to play 5-Out offense around one of, if not the best, scorers and playmakers in the NBA in Luka Doncic.
Throughout this breakdown, I will be referencing different terms, concepts, and techniques that I will not be going in-depth on. If you would like to learn more and explore the advanced strategies of basketball, check out the learn basketball course for a detailed breakdown of the basics to the most technical concepts that NBA Playoff teams will be using.
I also finished up the annual 2022 NCAA Tournament Playbook, with over 2000 plays and 15 hours of film that is now available for sale.
If you want a deeper exploration of the Warriors’ motion offense & concepts, check out my clinic breakdown of their offense.
Golden State Warriors Motion Offense Clinic
Golden State Offense vs Dallas Mavericks Defense
Like the Mavericks the Warriors have played 5-out as their primary offense this postseason, especially after switching to starting Draymond at the 5 and having Looney come off the bench. Although similar the ways they attack are completely different, with the Mavericks Lukaball offense centered around finding the mismatch and switched to allow Luka to exploit them to score as well as create for others. The Warriors’ offense is designed around motion, movement, and allowing their concepts to take advantage of the mismatches naturally. Kerr has talked about not specifically attacking mismatches and weak spots before and how they prefer to let their offense run and not get themselves caught up in hunting for mismatches.
While this general philosophy holds true, they will still put the defense in compromising situations by involving those weaker players in the main actions of their offense - typically with a ballscreen - but could be off-ball screening action and hand-offs.
During the regular season, the Warriors’ motion runs itself because teams will not focus on how to defend them as intensely and detailed as they will during a 7 game playoff series. In the playoffs, it can get bogged down by great switching and length, but also due to lack of playmaking outside of Draymond. Steph & Poole are incredibly gifted scorers but playmaking seems to come second or as a byproduct of their attention vs setting up teammates for success.
What makes the Warriors’ offense a really tough matchup is their ability to play small with Draymond at the 5 as their primary handler and creator, surrounded by high IQ shooters and screeners. Draymond's ability to "Bust Out" or grab the ball off a make or miss and push the tempo to create early advantages or cross matches makes the defense pay attention from the very second the Warriors have the ball.
Often times in these scenarios you can see Draymond directing traffic and emploring guys to run ahead of him for these chances, and with their transition spacing running shooters to the corners this opens up the floor for cuts and passes ahead for driving opportunities.
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