The Warriors will face the Mavs tonight, attempting to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
The Warriors had a couple of down moments in these playoffs, most notably falling down by 55 (!!!) points in Game 4 against Memphis in their previous series, but overall they have reached the Conference finals without too much trouble, and it seems like now they might be starting to click.
Golden State played an excellent game a couple of nights ago to defeat Dallas 112-87, limiting Luka Doncic to an inefficient 20-7-4 statline. I believe a similar outcome will happen tonight.
Injury report: Warriors still without Payton II, Iguodala and Wiseman, Mavericks still without Hardaway Jr.
The Mavs did really well to get past Utah 4-2 and upset the top seeded Phoenix 4-3, but I would say this is a horrible matchup for them. Unlike Phoenix, Golden State has a plethora of offensive weapons capable to break down any defensive setup, so it’s unlikely for the Mavs to hurt the Dubs decisively on that end (like they did to the Suns), especially in San Francisco. That will force Luka Doncic to have to put up spectacular offensive numbers, both scoring and distributing, but as we saw in Game 1, Golden State (one of the best defensive teams in the league) has the bodies and the quality to make it very difficult for him to run the show.
I struggle to see how Dallas can hurt the Warriors in this series. They will probably win a home game when their role players will get hot from three, but I think Golden State wins this Game 2 rather comfortably.
My tip will be Golden State to cover the -6 point (asian) handicap. Prediction: Golden State Warriors – Dallas Mavericks 115 – 100.
Pick: Warriors -6
Odds: 1.97 @ 1xBet
Stake: 10
Possible profit: 9.70
Event date: 21 May