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The Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks, two squads floundering toward the bottom of the Western Conference playoff standings that each added new pieces at the trade deadline, meet up at 9:30 PM ET on ESPN.
The Warriors are currently 10th in the Western Conference but half a game behind Dallas, who sit in eighth place. Both teams just acquired big new names, with the Warriors picking up six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat for Andrew Wiggins. Dallas made an even bolder move, sending 25-year-old superstar Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a three-team trade that brought back Anthony Davis and Max Christie.
The Mavericks and Warriors have split the first two matchups of their four-game season series. Golden State won in November, 120-117, led by Steph Curry’s 37 points and 9 assists. The Mavs took one back in December with a 144-133 victory. Curry had 26 points and 10 assists in the defeat for Golden State. Doncic led Dallas in points, rebounds and assists in both outings, averaging 38 points, 9.5 rebounds and 9.5 assists. Christie, meanwhile, is already paying dividends for Dallas, averaging 17 points and 5 rebounds in his first four contests.
However, the deal has already been heavily scrutinized, and the Mavericks lineup took a heavy hit when Davis went down with a left Adductor injury late in the third quarter of his debut. He had 26 points, 16 rebounds and 7 assists in less than three quarters against the Houston Rockets before suffering the injury, which will sideline him for up to a month.
Let’s break down each team’s recent play while previewing this matchup and making a Warriors @ Mavericks NBA pick.
The Warriors won its second game in three days Monday night with a 125-111 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. Curry scored a season-high 38 points and has been on fire offensively the past week plus. Butler had 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists.
Before that, the team pounded Chicago for the second time in 16 days, handling the Bulls on the road Saturday, 132-111. Curry tied his season-high with 8 3-pointers and scored 34 points to lead Golden State. Butler made his Warriors debut in this contest, scoring 25 points, while Quinten Post added 18 points, and Brandin Podziemski contributed 16 points and 7 assists. Golden State is currently in the midst of a season-long seven-game road trip. The Warriors are 2-2 so far.
Butler has the chance to yet again make an impact with a new team after a trade. And he’s already had success against Dallas this season, posting 33 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists for the Miami Heat in their 123-118 overtime victory over the Mavericks in November. Butler is averaging 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.8 assists, and his presence is critical for Golden State’s revived playoff hopes.
The Mavericks dropped a heartbreaking 129-128 overtime result to the Sacramento Kings Monday night. Kyrie Irving led the team with 30 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points, Klay Thompson had 19, and Christie added 15.
Before that, Dallas knocked off the Rockets in Davis’ dazzling debut before getting injured. Christie also stood out with 23 points, and Naji Marshall added 16. Christie had 15 points in Dallas’ 127-120 victory over the defending champion Boston Celtics on Thursday. Thompson had 25 points to lead Dallas, followed by Dinwiddie with 22, Marshall with 20 and Irving with 19.
With Doncic shipped off to Los Angeles, Irving now leads the team with 24.2 points and 4.9 assists per game.
While both teams felt the spark of their new additions, only Golden State will have its star newbie available tomorrow night. The Warriors need a major spark during this quiet, average 2024-25 campaign. Butler can provide that spark in waves. His aggressiveness inside will combine well with Curry’s methodical dissections on the perimeter.
Curry is averaging over 35 points in the four contests since trading Wiggins in the deal for Butler. That includes 37 in a loss to the Lakers and his most recent output of 34 against the Bulls and 38 Monday night against the Bucks.
With Butler opening things up offensively, look for Curry to have another strong scoring night against Dallas and score 25 points or more.
Brian has been writing about sports professionally for 25 years, specializing in the NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, men's college basketball and football, and soccer. He covered high school, collegiate and professional sports in the Baltimore-Washington metropolitan area for two decades. His written work has appeared in several print and online publications since 1999.