2024 Playoffs- 3rd Round: Minnesota Timberwolves - Dallas Mavericks- MAVS WIN 4-1!

[TurkishMFFL]

https://twitter.com/JayJay2nice/status/1...8405073107
@JayJay2nice
Come on 77 prove these bald niggas wrong

Pretty crazy how bad the narrative around Luka had/has become. Averaged 34/10/10 and was forgotten by basically all talking heads. He's taken down Shai. Jokic is gone. Now only Ant remaining, and Ant loves to run his mouth.

I hope Luka is feeling better.

I really do think Jokic would have gotten the same disrespect had he not won the championship last year. It’s the same with Luka. All things said, how many of these guys picked Dallas to win against the Thunder?

[Nowitzki Way]

I wanted no part of Minnesota in these playoffs. This is our worst matchup. The three headed bigs of Gobert/Towns/Reid really scares me, especially without Kleber. I'm not sure Gafford matches up well against any of those 3. Lively is going to be crucial in this series, but for him its all about staying out of foul trouble. Good luck.

Then Anthony Edwards. He's the next superstar in this league. He has the dog mentality and can take over a game at any given time. Our perimeter defenders are going to have to work hard to keep him in check. I think they will be ready though. SGA is as good as they come right now. Paul George and Harden were no cake walks either.

We thought Lu Dort was an excellent defender, wait til you see Jaden McDaniels hound him for 40 minutes. He's not as thick as Dort, but he's much longer at 6'9". He will give Luka problems, especially with all the nagging injuries. But outside of him they have no one that can guard Luka. Or Kyrie. At least OKC had Cason Wallace. Getting McDaniels off Luka or off the floor should be a big focus for Dallas.

They run a tight 8 man rotation. With Reid, Walker-Alexander, Anderson off the bench. With a little Monte Morris sprinkled in. I'm not sure if thats better than what OKC brought off the bench Joe, Wallace, Wiggins, Jaylin Williams. Joe was lights out from 3. Wallace played excellent defense and made a few big shots. With Minnesota, i think Reid will be the X-Factor this whole series.

Its crazy to say, but i would have rather played Denver. I'm saying Minnesota in 6. And as always, hope to be wrong.

[Chicagojk]

Exum is going to struggle unless he can pull the trigger.  He does a lot of his damage going to the rim, but there is going to be no room there.  He is more shy than Green in pulling the trigger from three.

He is always going to be a reluctant shooter.  That is fine.  This team needs a few guys who only look to take great shots.  During the regular season even when he was a reluctant shooter he did so many good things on the court.    In the first round of the playoffs it seemed different.  I am not sure if he lost confidence, not ready for playoff ball or if teams are defending him differently.   I think he is best when he pushes the pace and gets open non contested looks on drive and dish.

[Chicagojk]

It would be great for Dallas to get off to a quick start in game one. Both teams are coming off challenging series but Minny is primed for a slight exhale. They need to be feeling great right now. It would be awesome if dallas threw the first punch. Although, we have seen this is typically not their style.

[vfromlmf]

MIN are deep in the front court but they're thin at guard. No reliable handlers past Conley & ANT.

The Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets but the Mavs are a different animal.

As long as Dallas' bigs stay out of foul trouble they have enough front court depth to compete, especially if Kleber returns. The the best guard tandem in the league puts the Mavs over the top.

If Conley plays, Mavs in 6.

[SleepingHero]

Well I'm biased.

Mavs in 6.

[SleepingHero]

Timothy Legler (@LegsESPN)
Sitting here trying to decipher this @dallasmavs @Timberwolves series. This morning on @GetUpESPN I was asked who SHOULD be the favorite to win it all and I said Wolves. Bc they have earned the right to be viewed that way. BUT… I wasn’t asked who I BELIEVE wins this WCF SERIES. And my answer to that is… DALLAS.

[ballsrchr]

Mavs in 6. I NEVER went into competition thinking I couldn't win. I can't even wrap my mind around that concept.

Of course...I didn't always win. But...if you go into it thinking you can't win...then you've already lost...

Mavs--in--6.

[Scott41theMavs]

Mavs in 6.  I NEVER went into competition thinking I couldn't win.  I can't even wrap my mind around that concept.

Of course...I didn't always win.  But...if you go into it thinking you can't win...then you've already lost...

Mavs--in--6.

The thing is, your and my and every other fan's predictions have no bearing on how our boys in blue are going to perform.

[KillerLeft]

“If you don’t believe, you shouldn’t be here.”

—Luka Doncic

Mavs in 6!

[MaxiThreeba]

At first blush, my initial big questions:

- Can the Mavs front court of Gafford, Lively and PJ hold their own on the boards against Gobert, KAT and Naz?
- Can the Mavs find enough offense from the grab bag of THJ, Green, Exum and Hardy to combat what the Wolves get from Conley and NAW?
- What pair of "others" plays better, DJJ and PJ or McDaniels and Naz?
- Will Kai find a way to be aggressive for 4 quarters and make Ant work now that he likely gets to guard Conley instead of having to battle SGA and Williams?
- Will we see the healthier looking version of Luka we saw in Games 5 and 6 for a full series?  McDaniels is an elite defender but won't beat Luka up physically the way Dort tried to.
- Do the Mavs have an answer for the KAT, Naz minutes without Maxi?  Will Maxi make it back this series and if so, can he be effective against those lineups?


The obvious questions that are there in every series remain as well:

- Who shoots the 3 better?
- Who rebounds better?
- Who takes care of the ball better?

[SleepingHero]

[Reunion Mav]

I said after the game 4 loss that it would be great to have this chance for more great experience for our younger players. We not only got this chance but games 5 and 6 were awesome experiences for the team and for us. Yes a very good season is in the books. Now we need 4 more wins for a great season and 4 more for an epic season. I think if this team keeps playing well and improving some mistakes we have been making that we are good enough to win this and the next round.

Both Minnesota and Boston (and Indiana) have been very up and down at times. We have given ourselves a chance in every game even from way behind. I think we beat all 3 teams on leadership, togetherness and therefore consistency. I give us a real interesting and realistic chance.

First item for improvement: win game 1 which we have not done. We already seem to understand that every game will be brutally hard.

[mvossman]

I wanted no part of Minnesota in these playoffs. This is our worst matchup. The three headed bigs of Gobert/Towns/Reid really scares me, especially without Kleber.  I'm not sure Gafford matches up well against any of those 3. Lively is going to be crucial in this series, but for him its all about staying out of foul trouble. Good luck.

Then Anthony Edwards. He's the next superstar in this league. He has the dog mentality and can take over a game at any given time. Our perimeter defenders are going to have to work hard to keep him in check. I think they will be ready though. SGA is as good as they come right now. Paul George and Harden were no cake walks either.

We thought Lu Dort was an excellent defender, wait til you see Jaden McDaniels hound him for 40 minutes. He's not as thick as Dort, but he's much longer at 6'9". He will give Luka problems, especially with all the nagging injuries. But outside of him they have no one that can guard Luka. Or Kyrie.  At least OKC had Cason Wallace. Getting McDaniels off Luka or off the floor should be a big focus for Dallas.

They run a tight 8 man rotation. With Reid, Walker-Alexander, Anderson off the bench.  With a little Monte Morris sprinkled in.  I'm not sure if thats better than what OKC brought off the bench Joe, Wallace, Wiggins, Jaylin Williams.  Joe was lights out from 3. Wallace played excellent defense and made a few big shots.  With Minnesota, i think Reid will be the X-Factor this whole series.

Its crazy to say, but i would have rather played Denver.  I'm saying Minnesota in 6.  And as always, hope to be wrong.

To be fair, you have generally had a pessimistic view of this team, yes?  I believe you felt we were likely to get knocked out of the play-in?

[audiosway]

After thinking more about the series last night I wanted to add to what I previously said. I don't know that Minny has the taste for bully ball. And that's what the Mavs have been playing so far.
KAT has always shied away and been more of a finesse player.
ANT probably doesn't mind it because of his mentality. But, what toll does that take on him being the main offensive threat?
Gobert is obviously a great defender but Lively is really active on the boards and Gafford loves to bully bigs in the paint. How will he hold up to that?
Reid I'm unsure about. Just don't know much about him yet.
Conley is an older guard that is a borderline all star. Can he hold up to constant pressure? He sure can't defend Luka or Ky.

I wish we had Maxi for this series. He would come in very handy. It's going to be a great series and I still say confidently that the Mavs will win in 6.

[KillerLeft]

IF Luka is starting to feel better (big if) then McDaniels won’t be able to stand up to his size and strength. Edwards, however, has a chance to give him the Dort treatment, and I expect MIN to try that some. But, that will come at the expense of the Wolves’ best and only truly consistent offensive creator having less energy on offense.

When Minnesota doubles, they will be BIG doubles, and I imagine that makes life untenable for most ball-handlers, but Luka has the size to see over the top and get the ball out effectively (again, if he’s healthy enough).

If Dallas can force MIN into some switches, nobody on their roster outside of Edwards and McDaniels has any chance of bothering Luka in the slightest (once again, if he’s feeling good and playing well).

On the other end, I feel really good about DJJ, PJ, Lively and the Mavs’ team defense slowing down Edwards and especially KAT.

There are definitely ways this could play out other than what I’m describing above, but that’s how I HOPE it will go down.

Mavs in 6.

[fifteenth]

Completely biased prediction:

Mavs play their best basketball of the 2024 playoffs so far. Luka looks more like 89% Luka than 50 to 75% Luka. DJJ and the Mavs D bother Ant enough. Lively doesn't back down to the behemoths and his effort and beyond his years maturity bring a sports tear to my eye at some point, Kyrie shifts into another gear, JKidd makes good adjustments (like he has so far), PJ continues to stand on business and...

Mavs in 6.

[Winter]

Timothy Legler (@LegsESPN)
Sitting here trying to decipher this @dallasmavs @Timberwolves series. This morning on @GetUpESPN I was asked who SHOULD be the favorite to win it all and I said Wolves. Bc they have earned the right to be viewed that way. BUT… I wasn’t asked who I BELIEVE wins this WCF SERIES. And my answer to that is… DALLAS.

I sort of get this. The issue really is that we have absolutely no baseline for understanding how these teams match up except on paper. 

This year's regular season matchups really can't be used very well. Consider all of this in regard to our regular season matchups:

1. Grant Williams was a complete nothing-burger in those losing games with Minnesota, and we lost two of the losing games by single digits. The third was a blowout because we played without Doncic, Lively, Exum, or Irving. Seriously. I think Hardaway was our point guard in the blowout and R. Holmes was our center (that should tell you all you need to know). 

2. In another one that was a close single-digit loss, Neither Doncic or Irving played and we only lost by 8 points. 

3. In the two games Doncic did play, he scored 39 and 34 points. In the only game we won, Dwight Powell was our starting center (and our biggest player because neither Lively nor Kleber were available !!!). 

4. Irving and Doncic as a tandem have both played against Minnie in just one game this season. The Mavericks won. Irving had 35 points and Doncic 34. The same game in which Dwight Powell was our only center. In the win, Grant Williams came off the bench replaced finally by DJJ as a starter. Minnie was healthy and played their entire lineup.

Trying to figure out how these teams matchup is a total crapshoot now. The lineups are entirely different for Dallas. Lively played in only two games, Doncic played in only two games, Irving in only one game, and of course Gafford and PJ in none of the games. For Minnie, they competed without Towns once, but were healthy for all the others.

[The Jom]

I have lupophobia. Fear of wolves. You all’s takes give me hope. But I remain more fearful than hopeful.

[HoosierDaddyKid]

IF Luka is starting to feel better (big if) then McDaniels won’t be able to stand up to his size and strength. Edwards, however, has a chance to give him the Dort treatment, and I expect MIN to try that some. But, that will come at the expense of the Wolves’ best and only truly consistent offensive creator having less energy on offense.

When Minnesota doubles, they will be BIG doubles, and I imagine that makes life untenable for most ball-handlers, but Luka has the size to see over the top and get the ball out effectively (again, if he’s healthy enough).

If Dallas can force MIN into some switches, nobody on their roster outside of Edwards and McDaniels has any chance of bothering Luka in the slightest (once again, if he’s feeling good and playing well).

On the other end, I feel really good about DJJ, PJ, the Mavs’ team defense slowing down Edwards and especially KAT.

There are definitely ways this could play out other than what I’m describing above, but that’s how I HOPE it will go down.

Mavs in 6.

All good points. But you realize Luka and Kyrie have to guard them too. As well as DJJ and PJ. McDaniels, Reid, Anderson, and Kat are far bigger than the Clippers and Thunder front courts. It works both ways for either team.