NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: MAVERICKS VS. WARRIORS

May 18, 2022

Spencer Dinwiddie

Dallas Mavericks

Game 1: Postgame

Warriors 112, Mavericks 87

Q. What gives you confidence that you guys can bounce back from this? Do you feel like you were getting good looks tonight?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: I mean, you really just answered your own question, to be honest. I mean, we were 11-for-48 from three and maybe eight of those are bad, right. So that means you've got 40 good looks at three, you at least want to hit 15, 16 of them. Five more threes, 15 more points. You know, during the course of the game we were down about 20, which puts you in the game.

Q. Does it give you confidence that you were down in both the first and second rounds?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: Yeah, of course, it's a series. I don't think Golden State is sitting over there saying they won, the same way we aren’t sitting over here saying we lost. We've got to get four wins. So same vibe.

Q. Their defense and how they can throw multiple guys at different guys, how much is that disruptive and how do you guys adjust to that?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: Yeah, I think every series has a different makeup, right, and this team has its very clear distinct differences than the past two we've played. One of the best parts about both Coach Kidd and Luka are their ability to adjust and adapt, so I'm expecting us to do the same heading into Game 2.

Obviously I think we have reason to be confident. I don't think we're going to shoot as poorly. Like you said, they threw different defenders, different defenses at us, so now it's just about looking at the film and coming back with solutions.

Q. Speaking of Luka being able to adjust, what stood out to you most in being his teammate these last few months about the way he's able to dissect something that maybe they throw at him one game and he's able to answer that pretty quickly?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: He's just brilliant. I think he's seen every defense from probably playing professional overseas when he was younger. If you've seen it before, you've probably developed counters for it. So now it's just about continuing to improve game by game, and he's one of the best in the business at doing it.

Q. How do you keep them from playing at the pace they want to when Draymond is so good at getting the rebound and just getting them out running?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: I think probably making shots probably helps some of that, stifle some of that transition. And then just communication and talking out our match-ups, doing that properly. Obviously they've done this at a high level for, what, eight years now, they've probably been the best team in the league since 2015 or so. They're going to do what they do to a certain extent. But if we make shots, don't turn it over as much, there's definitely a lot of room for improvement.

Q. Is there any shell shock or brief adjustment to the way they play offensively? Like the off-ball movement and the speed with which they execute that as opposed to kind of creating space through pick-and-roll actions as frequently? As a defender do you have to get up to speed against just playing them?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: I don't think shell shocked is the right adjective. Like I said, they've been the best team in the league since probably 2015, like combined record or whatever. But in terms of adjusting, of course. Each series, like I said, has its own makeup, has a life of its own. So this one is going to be completely different with their off-ball movement. They don't rely on pick-and-rolls, like you said, like the other teams have. Just getting adjusted and getting ready for Game 2.

Q. How much are adjustments -- I know it starts with the coaching staff. How much are you personally already seeing adjustments, already thinking about things you did or didn't do and how you want to be better at those going forward?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: Yeah, I mean, definitely. Like we self-evaluate, self-correct. That's part of what makes us NBA players. At the end of the day we're one of the best 5,000 or so people to ever do this in the history of mankind. We've got to be pretty solid. Even if you're Theo (Pinson).

Q. Is he 5,000th?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: No, maybe like 4,900.

Q. You guys can't make up for the experience gap here because they've been together, you mentioned, for eight years. How do you feel like poise could be something that will benefit you guys, and how was that challenged in Game 1?

SPENCER DINWIDDIE: I mean, I wouldn't call it a lack of poise. Like I said, I think it's tough to come in on the road and beat the Warriors any time, especially in the Western Conference Finals after they've had a little bit of rest, plus we missed shots. It is what it is. Like we lost Game 1. But our group does a great job of staying together.

I mean, I think that's why our bench gets so many fines. We all love each other, and so we've got each other's back. I don't think there's any type of a -- we're not standing at the line, we're blinking. We're ready to go toe to toe with these guys. We know what we can do. We beat them in the regular season. We've just got to make the adjustments and move on. We lost Game 1 against Utah and were down 0-2 against Phoenix.