The Golden State Warriors are now up 3-0 in the Western Conference Finals and are just one win away from making a return to the NBA Finals for the first time since 2019. Although the series against the Dallas Mavericks is not officially over yet, most fans and experts believe that the Dubs will complete a sweep in Game 4 of the series.
But taking the Dallas Mavericks lightly could be the worst mistake the Warriors can make at this point in time. The Phoenix Suns did that in the second round of the playoffs and paid for it.
Warriors superstar and defensive juggernaut Draymond Green seems to perfectly understand the situation. In the postgame conference, Green was asked what the Warriors are expecting from the Mavs since the latter is just one loss away from elimination.
(starts at 5:55)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlgNYGw8Ybs
“It’s going to be a very hard game. No one gets to the Conference Finals and quits. Never happens. Up 3-0, up 3-1 whatever, no one ever quits. So we’re not expecting them to come out and quit, we’re expecting them to come out and put their best before (us). Ultimately, I think if we put out our best before, we give ourselves a chance to win the game but being one win away from the NBA Finals means absolutely nothing. Just means that you have to win one more game and that game isn’t gonna be easy so we gotta make sure we come in with an even better focus level than we did tonight.”
Great teams always take each and every game in the playoffs seriously. That’s a great mentality from the Warriors and it will certainly help them in possibly finishing the series in Game 4.
Similar to Green, even Stephen Curry said that being one win away from the NBA finals means nothing as the job is not finished as of now. Once they finish the job, they can take a breath of relief and focus next on winning the 2022 NBA Championship.
