Jannelle Moore on the Warriors: Klay feels good, team feels good
Golden State Warriors thump Dallas Mavericks with their best two-way
game in weeks
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry #30 and Jordan Poole #3 celebrate a basket in the third quarter
of their NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area
News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry #30 and Jordan Poole #3 celebrate a basket in the third quarter of
their NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News
Group)
By JANNELLE MOORE |
PUBLISHED: January 26, 2022 at 5:31 a.m. | UPDATED: January 26, 2022 at
11:20 a.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/01/26/jannelle-moore-on-the-warriors-klay-feels-good-team-feels-good/

In his postgame comments Tuesday night, Klay Thompson said it felt good
to be himself again.

Arguably his best performance since returning from a 30-month absence on
Jan. 9, Thompson scored 15 points on 6 of 12 shooting, including 3 of 5
from three.

In striking parallelism, the Golden State Warriors also could say it
felt good to be themselves again. In their 130-92 demolition of the
Dallas Mavericks, the Dubs’ offense looked like it did during the first
quarter of the season. Their pace was uptempo. The elite ball movement
they are known for was there, and they made their open shots.

The Warriors shot 53.4 percent and a respectable 39.5 percent from
three. They also racked up 31 assists, and had a balanced scoring night
with seven players in double figures for the first time since March of
last year against the Los Angeles Clippers.

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors’ Klay
Thompson #11 reacts after making a basket in the fourth quarter of their
NBA game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center in San
Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News
Group)

Here are more observations from the Warriors’ huge win over Dallas.

- Bench Mob

The Warriors’ bench scored a season-high 71 points, eclipsing their
previous mark of 59 against the Miami Heat. Jordan Poole steadied the
second unit with 17 points. Poole was confident and decisive. He was
aggressive with his shot while coinciding with the offense. Warriors’
coach Steve Kerr believes that the cohesion between the starters and the
bench was all about simplicity.

“Just clean, moving the ball,” Kerr said. “Taking the open shots, not
forcing anything. Making a couple of great moves to the basket, but
then, moving the ball on. I thought everybody really did a good job of
just spacing the floor and moving it on to the next guy. We got a lot of
really good looks.”

Poole agrees.

“I think we played really good team ball tonight,” Poole said. “A lot of
one-mores, a lot of extras, getting a lot of people in their spots and
getting them good shots. We caught a rhythm pretty early and it’s just
kind of hard to stop us after that.”

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors’ Jordan
Poole #3 brings the ball down court in the second quarter of their NBA
game against the Dallas Mavericks at the Chase Center in San Francisco,
Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

- Midrange Steph

Still stuck in his slump, Stephen Curry ended his night with 18 points
on 7 of 16 shooting, 2 of 10 from deep. However, he showed positive
signs indicating a breakthrough. Curry got himself going early by
hitting mid-range jumpers. Before the game, Curry made it a point to
practice mid-range jumpers from various spots and situations. He made
pull-ups and some tightly contested shots with former Warrior and player
mentor/coach Leandro Barbosa guarding him.

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In the game, Curry hit his midrange shots before going away from that in
hopes to break his cold spell from three. Despite Curry’s struggles,
Kerr’s been impressed with his overall play.

“The three-point shot hasn’t been going in but he’s making mid-range
shots,” Kerr said. “He’s getting the ball into the paint and he’s made
brilliant passes. He’s had seven assists and he rebounds so well for a
guard. He’s doing everything for us and pretty encouraging that we can
have a game like that without Steph lighting it up from three. We know
that’s going to come, and it’s just a matter of time. But in the
meantime, he’s playing great.”

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors’ Stephen
Curry #30 shoots over Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic #77 in the first
quarter of their NBA game at the Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif.,
on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

- Defense

The Warriors are now 6-4 since Draymond Green was sidelined and have
reclaimed the league lead in defensive rating at 102.4 points allowed
per 100 possessions. The Warriors held the Mavericks to a season low of
35.2 percent shooting. When the defense is clicking, the Warriors
thrive. They are 19-2 when holding their opponent under 100 points. They
are 10-1 when holding an opponent under 40 percent from the field. The
Warriors thrive off defense because of what it can do offensively- easy
buckets in transition which fuels the offense more.

“We played well at both ends and when you play well offensively, you
tend to put your defense in a good position and vice versa,” Kerr said.
“You get stops and you get rebounds and you get out in transition and
the offense is more likely to flow.”

>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 25: Golden State Warriors Damion
Lee #1 and Juan Toscano-Anderson #95 double team Dallas Mavericks
Marquese Chriss #32 in the fourth quarter of their NBA game at the Chase
Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022. (Jane
Tyska/Bay Area News Group)

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Jannelle Moore | Guest Analyst