Mavericks Western Conference Finals Preview with Coach Shaver
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The Dallas Mavericks are having a historical season this year and after Sunday’s Game 7 win over the Phoenix Suns, they continue it with a trip to the Western Conference Finals. After not winning a playoff series in over a decade, the Mavericks are now looking to pick up a third consecutive series victory and send themselves to the NBA Finals for the first time since they won in 2011.
Dallas gets things started tonight, with a 8 p.m. start time. The Mavericks, as they did in each of the first two rounds, come into this series as the betting underdog, with the Warriors being -215 favorites and the Mavericks being +180 underdogs.
Wednesday the Mavericks will be looking to do something they weren’t able to do in either of their first two series’, steal Game One. In Game One of their opening round match agains the Utah Jazz, Dallas was without their star Luka Doncic and dropped the first game by a score of 99-93.
They answered back by winning four of their next five games, one of the wins coming with Doncic still sitting out. The Western Conference Semifinals saw a similar fate, with Phoenix taking Game One by a final score of 121-114.
Phoenix doubled down in Game Two, blowing the Mavs out with a 20-point victory. With their backs against the wall, Dallas came back and won four of the final five games, capping off the series with a 123-90 road victory.
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While the Mavericks have a great chance of beating the Warriors and advancing to the NBA Finals, they will want to avoid playing from behind if possible. Golden State, while a few years removed from their dynasty from 2015-2018, is still a team with tons of playoff experience and a team who has seemed to figure out their championship recipe again.
“Honestly, I never expected to be here. I’m living my best life. This is a dream,” Mavericks superstar Doncic said. Doncic has been incredible this postseason, averaging 31.5 points per game on an efficient 47.4% from the field.
He’s also leading the team with 10.1 rebounds per game, 6.6 assists per game and 1.9 steals per game. He’s also coming off an all-time performance in which he had 35 points on 12-19 shooting and 6-11 from behind the 3-point line, to go alone with 10 rebounds and four assists in the Game Seven blowout.
This postseason the Mavericks have also seen huge contributions from Jalen Brunson, who is averaging just under 23 points per game. The former NCAA champion was huge in leading the team against Utah while Doncic was out and has continued to play great basketball since the superstars return.
To talk more about the Mavericks postseason run and preview the upcoming series agains the Warriors, I was joined this week on The Lennon Closet Podcast by Sulphur Springs Wildcats head basketball coach Brandon Shaver. To hear the full breakdown listen here: The Lennon Closet Podcast
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