The Warriors Dominated the Mavs With a Really, Really Small Lineup—and Charles Barkley Hated It
Death Lineup 3.0
Steve Kerr and the Warriors can be credited with starting the current small-ball revolution in the NBA. Golden State’s so-called “Death Lineup” of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Andre Iguodala, Draymond Green and Harrison Barnes (later Kevin Durant) was the team’s most dominant fivesome during its 73–9 season. The center-less lineup wasn’t the Warriors’ primary grouping, though. It was a change of pace meant to throw opponents off balance.
But on Thursday against the Mavericks, the Warriors made the whole plane out of the black box and went small for all 48 minutes. And they crushed Dallas.
The Warriors already have a small roster, with only two centers (7-foot rookie James Wiseman and the 6' 9" Kevon Looney) to complement under-sized power forwards Draymond Green and Eric Paschall (both listed at 6' 6"). With Wiseman and Looney both out injured, the Warriors are going to have to play at least a week’s worth of games without a big man.
So on Thursday night in Dallas, the Warriors started a lineup of Green, Stephen Curry (6' 3"), Kelly Oubre (6' 7"), Juan Toscano-Anderson (6' 6") and Andrew Wiggins (6' 7"). The Mavs countered by going big with Luka Dončić (6' 7"), Josh Richardson (6' 5"), Dorian Finney-Smith (6' 7"), Maxi Kleber (6' 10") and Kristaps Porziņģis (7' 3").
The size discrepancy was hardly a disadvantage for the Warriors. Not only did they cruise to a 147–116 win, they even won the rebounding battle. Golden State collected 45 rebounds; Dallas, with three 7-footers, grabbed 42.
After the first half ended 76–74, Charles Barkley was disgusted by what he saw. The Mavs, the team with the worst three-point percentage in the whole league, were forced to play from the perimeter. More than half of their shots in the first half (29 out of 45) were threes. Barkley called it “stupid-ass basketball.”
Dallas got the three balls to fall in the first half, shooting 51.7% from deep, but the luck ran out in the second half and the Mavs made just five of 21 attempts (23.8%).
The Warriors, meanwhile, benefited from lights-out performances from Oubre, who had a career-high 40 points, and Green, who had 15 assists.
We’ll see if the Mavs can find another way to deal with the small lineup when these two teams play again on Saturday.
The best of SI
Should the NBA have an All-Star Game this year? LeBron said the NBA's holding the event was “a slap in the face.” ... Bold predictions for Super Bowl LV. ... Roger Goodell’s Super Bowl press conference was a reminder that much of 2021 remains uncertain.
Around the sports world
The Detroit Free Press has a thoroughly reported story about Pistons owner Tom Gores’s ties to the private prison industry. ... Despite their messy breakup, Robert Kraft says he’s pulling for Tom Brady and the Bucs on Sunday. ... The head of the Tokyo Olympics organizing committee apologized for saying women talk too much in meetings. ... Did you know the Yankees’ logo has its roots in a 19th-century robbery? ... Liverpool won’t be allowed to travel to Germany for its Champions League match against RB Leipzig due to coronavirus restrictions.
The fine print on this is so funny: “except for five”
He doesn’t look fine
Even LeBron can air-ball a free throw
The injured Klay Thompson got almost 100,000 All-Star votes
He’s such a kook!
There’s another Tom Brady playing sports at Michigan
That’s the Big Ten for you!
Strength coaches are a special breed
Madden’s Super Bowl prediction
Not sports
A man denied service at Southern California’s famous Roscoe’s House of Chicken ’N Waffles for not wearing a mask came back and robbed the joint. ... The rapper Lil Yachty is set to star in a movie based on the card game Uno. ... Subaru says a single employee is responsible for an issue that led to the recall of almost 400 cars.
Swing and a miss
A waterfront house is great, until...
A good song
Email dan.gartland@si.com with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
