DALLAS — The Dallas Mavericks entered the Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves as an underdog. Par for the course, right? After all, the West’ fifth seeded Mavs hadn’t been favored in any of their series thus far.
But after leaving Los Angeles and Oklahoma City in the dust, Minnesota appeared to be a new and improved Phoenix from yesteryear playoff battles for Dallas, with the tantalizingly talented Anthony Edwards pushed by narratives as the next face of the league, like Devin Booker before him.
Those thirsty pups from up north had just dispatched the reigning league champions and their recently crowned MVP and Dallas was just another speed bump on their way to the top of the heap. If the road to Hell is paved with good intentions, the road to the NBA Finals now runs through Dallas and that road is paved with whichever star du jour Luka Doncic and crew have left by the wayside throughout these playoffs.
For all the stats and media talking points, the games still have to be played. Through two games, the pendulum of the Western Conference has shifted squarely into the Mavericks’ favor thanks to their own superstar catching fire, the team’s unwavering continuation of buying into Jason Kidd’s gameplan, and the playoff rotation continuing to do their jobs to facilitate Doncic and Kyrie Irving closing out in the clutch.
It starts with Luka, of course. At this point, it seems inevitable that this will be the run that changes the perception for his game outside of Dallas. On the biggest stage, he is showing what he has built up to over the first six years of his superlative career, a career that has befuddled pundits. Doncic’s legacy-bolstering 3 over the Defensive Player of the Year to win Game 2 let the rest of the world know what we’ve known all along. Frankly, he is a stone cold killer.
With barely any time left in regulation, as the Wolves were desperate to avoid losing both games to open the series at home, Doncic smelled blood in the water and made Rudy Gobert’s ankles shake for a game-winner over the 7’1” center’s extended body. The shot and the moment showed the difference for these teams.
Gobert’s role is to be under the rim, yet Dallas schemed to force Gobert out on the perimeter as Doncic danced effortlessly until he found his go-to step back attempt. It was another failure for the Wolves’ defense, one that has struggled to adjust to the plethora of ways that the Mavs can beat them despite being the league’s top unit during the regular season, and one that may be the lasting memory for their season, even in a year where so much went right.
Thanks to Doncic, the Wolves may not even get a chance to play in front of the home fans again this season.
Doncic’s winner echoed a continuation for the 25-year-old to elevate his already lofty game for the biggest moments. The scary issue for Minnesota is that the Mavericks have yet to throw their best punch this series, they have simply pushed the Wolves into playing into their game plan while taking command in the waning moments of close games.
The Wolves haven’t had an answer yet for the two-headed closing machine that is 4th quarter Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, and the Mavericks now return home to Dallas with a 2-0 series lead and an opportunity to clinch a trip to the NBA Finals within their sights.
Doncic pushed through for 33 in the Game 1 win, including taking over in the fourth quarter during crunch time, a familiar refrain from Doncic’s playoff career. In Game 2, Doncic shot 45% from deep, was perfect from the free-throw line, and personally sent the Minnesota fans out the door disappointed. Doncic is shooting 50% from the field, 45% from three, and 92% from the line in his last four games. He is streaking at the perfect time as he continues to adjust to leg ailments that have lingered.
That Dallas was able to claim the first two games of this series was particularly remarkable as the Timberwolves went 30-11 at home during a regular season in which they spent the majority of the year atop the conference. They are now 3-4 at home in the playoffs thanks to Dallas arriving at the Target Center and bullying their way through the Wolves’ gameplan.
The thought going into the series was that there was great theater to be had as two of the biggest star player trash talkers were set to face off against each other. So far, the talk has been one-sided from #77, and like some sort of video game final boss, each new holler seems to only make him stronger.
Meanwhile, Minnesota’s young superstar Edwards, who has seen his stock rise astronomically during these playoffs, has been largely neutralized so far. Edwards was forced into shooting mostly from deep in the Game 1 loss, and made a concerted effort to play within the arc on Friday night.
The struggles continued for Edwards in Game 2 as he shot under 30% from the field. Edwards has also looked gassed in the second half of both contests after having to chase Irving around on defense while also being expected to shoulder the brunt of the load for the Wolves on offense. Running mate Karl Anthony-Towns has yet to pick up the slack. A big who would rather hit from the perimeter, Towns has made just three of 14 three attempts in the series.
In the paint, the expectation coming in was that Dallas’ two-headed center tandem of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford would no longer easily run roughshod inside with Gobert patrolling. Instead, the Mavs have feasted down low with easy lobs and putbacks as the offense has seen Lively go a perfect 10-10 from the field in the series so far. The Lively-Gafford duo contributed 30 points in the Game 2 win after Dallas outscored Minnesota 62-38 in the paint in Game 1. On defense, it was Gafford who bullied inside with five blocks.
One of the underrated aspects going into this series is that Minnesota had not seen this iteration of the Mavericks, as all four of the regular season matchups between these teams were played before the trade deadline where Dallas added Gafford and P.J. Washington to solidify a defense which has become elite. Judging by the first two games of this series, it’s clear that the final version of this Mavericks edition is superior to the Minnesota team that bullied them earlier in the season.
Barring a catastrophic collapse, the Mavs now need to prove that superiority for two more wins in a potential five tries – with as many as three of those coming at the American Airlines Center – and if they can, they will reach the final round as the West’s top dog.
Do you think the Mavericks will take care of business at home and return to the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years? Share your predictions with Irvin on X (formerly Twitter) @Twittirv.
