My answer: a little. The Warriors proved in the Grizzlies series that
they aren't cowed by big pressure and can perform at the end of games.
However the Mavs also came up big in their game 7. So it's kind of a
wash to me - but I'd give the Warriors the edge, because they've been
through lots of this and know they can adjust. -AL

=============================================================

Warriors have huge experience advantage over Mavs. Does that matter?
The Warriors are 5-0 in Western Conference finals series under coach
Steve Kerr.
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 14: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green, #23 Klay Thompson #11 and Stephen Curry #30 celebrate their
126-112 NBA win against the Washington Wizards at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 14, 2022. It was the first time
the trio shared the court in 1,005 days. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 14: Golden State Warriors’ Draymond
Green, #23 Klay Thompson #11 and Stephen Curry #30 celebrate their
126-112 NBA win against the Washington Wizards at the Chase Center in
San Francisco, Calif., on Monday, March 14, 2022. It was the first time
the trio shared the court in 1,005 days. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: May 17, 2022 at 3:52 p.m. | UPDATED: May 17, 2022 at 5:15 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/05/17/warriors-have-huge-experience-advantage-over-mavs-does-that-matter/

SAN FRANCISCO — Before Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinals on
Sunday, Luka Doncic feared that he might be playing in his final game of
the 2021-22 season.

“But I wasn’t ready” for the season to end, Doncic said Tuesday. “I
wanted to play (more) basketball.”

Then, as he’s done for most of the playoffs, Doncic took over the game
and led Dallas to its first Western Conference finals since 2011.

The Mavericks have won four of their last five games heading into
Wednesday night’s Game 1 of the conference semifinals against the
Warriors, including a 33-point victory that eliminated the Suns, who
posted the NBA’s best regular-season record.

“I’m sure they’re feeling confident,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr
said. “We’re feeling confident, our guys have been in this position many
times, our core guys, I think where it shows is kind of down the stretch
like (the Warriors’ series-clinching victory) against Memphis in Game 6.
our guys have guts, not afraid of anything, and that’s where our
experience helps us.”

However, Dorian Finney-Smith said the Mavericks — while not as
experienced as the Warriors at this stage — have moved on from that
series win and have turned their focus to the Warriors.

“We got our feet back on the ground,” Finney-Smith said. “We’re trying
to do something special. We still believe that we have better basketball
to play. And to beat this team, we have to play the best basketball
we’ve ever played.”

Wednesday will mark the return of the Warriors to the Western Conference
finals after a three-year hiatus. It’ll be Golden State’s sixth
appearance in the last eight years. They’re 5-0 in the penultimate
series under Kerr, with Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green
being the remaining key anchors of those juggernaut teams.

Kerr said the Warriors lean on their championship experience but it’s
not a “solution” for success, especially against this surging Mavericks
team that appears to be peaking at the right time.

“This is a different version of the Warriors than the team that made the
finals five years in a row,” Kerr said. “It’s kind of new territory for
some of our guys but exciting for us to be here.”

Mavericks coach and Bay Area basketball legend Jason Kidd believes the
Warriors’ knowledge of knowing how to win at this stage gives them a
slight edge.

“They’ve seen it all,” he said.

But the Mavericks believe they have an advantage of their own, and
that’s Doncic, who’s been playing some of his best basketball of the
season during the playoffs

Doncic averaged 32.6 points, 9.9 rebounds and seven assists in seven
games against the Suns. He also has more help around him than during
previous seasons, including Spencer Dinwiddie and bigger contributions
from Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson.

“Luka is a little different… the world has been his stage, and he enjoys
it,” Kidd said. “The bigger it gets, the better he plays. So hopefully
that’s what happens for us.”

- Injury watch

Otto Porter Jr. was a full participant in practice for the second
consecutive day and will be available for Game 1.

Despite Kerr saying Porter was probable for Wednesday’s contest, the
Warriors forward wasn’t on the team’s injury report Tuesday afternoon.

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Porter, 28, has been out since May 11 with soreness in his right foot
that flared up in the first half of Game 5 against the Grizzlies. He’s
slowly been working his way back, doing some agility workouts and light
shooting before he rejoined the team in practice Monday.

Porter is averaging 4.8 points and 3.9 rebounds while coming off the
bench in 10 playoff games.

On another note, Gary Payton II, who broke his elbow during Game 2
against Memphis on May 3, was spotted without a sling on his left arm at
Tuesday’s practice while putting up shots with his non-injured right arm.

Payton on Sunday said he’d been doing some strength and conditioning and
any activity he can that does not require his left shooting elbow.

Could he make his return during this series?

It’s too early to say.

Kerr previously played down the odds of Payton making an appearance in
the penultimate series, calling it a “possibility” but also a “long shot.”

Should Payton return for the conference finals, he would be a crucial
element to the Warriors’ defensive attack and could be another weapon to
throw on Doncic.

- Klay’s keys

What must the Warriors do to limit the damage done by Doncic?

“I would say playing your hardest and trusting your teammates are the
two keys,” Thompson said.

Seems simple enough.