GAME 1 Playoffs 2024: Dallas Mavericks (0-0) vs. Minnesota Timberwolves (0-0)

[dirkfansince1998]

Gafford had a bad game but that 3-point make by KAT was about 30 feet away from the basket.  I don't think we want Gafford aggressively trying to defend that shot.  

Gafford was bad tonight though.  I think this will likely be a bad series for him and Dwight Powell might be able to help us some.

Lively defended the same kind of possessions much better. Recovers much quicker. Getting into Towns body. Not allowing him to get a shot up. Mavs need to figure out how to survive the non Lively minutes. Kinda insane that the Mavs are getting blown out when their rookie center is on the bench but here we are.
Not sure about Powell. I think Gafford needs to play 10-15 minutes. Maybe they can adjust the scheme and keep him closer to the paint.

[Jym]

Y'all are wild for dogging Gafford. He played fine.

He was fine
Lively was magical

[SwisherPrice]

Gafford gets too much hate. I even saw someone suggest that Powell should play over him after the last game

Of course he's not perfect and he will have some bad plays but he's a 20 minute per game role player for a reason. He's not a star but he's still an important piece of the overall success of the team. As long as he is getting rebounds and buckets inside then he's doing his job. Another game where the Mavs win the rebounding battle and Gafford is a big part of that. Especially against one of the biggest teams in the league.

[DallasMaverick]

I think Dallas is just mentally tougher. At least tonight.

Maybe Minny was more tired.

[BigDirk41]

Y'all are wild for dogging Gafford. He played fine.

He did some good things tonight, but also his fair shair of poor plays. He needs to stop dribbling and do better on the board and he'll be fine.

[dirkfansince1998]

Gafford gets too much hate. I even saw someone suggest that Powell should play over him after the last game

Of course he's not perfect and he will have some bad plays but he's a 20 minute per game role player for a reason. He's not a star but he's still an important piece of the overall success of the team. As long as he is getting rebounds and buckets inside then he's doing his job. Another game where the Mavs win the rebounding battle and Gafford is a big part of that. Especially against one of the biggest teams in the league.

Mavs have been outscored with him on the floor in every single game since game six of the Clippers series. In the last 3-4 it was a blowout with him on the floor. Just cannot ignore it. I don't think benching him is the solution. But they need to make some adjustments. I don't really want them to change the rotation pattern of the bigs but maybe they can find different lineups around Gafford.

[GATA]

No more Hardaway or Exum the rest of the series. Hardy played well tonight. Great passing

[dirkfansince1998]

Also a quiet game from DJJ. Still doing his job on defense but with Gobert in deep drop there aren't as many backdoor cut or lob opportunities. If that is how the T'Wolves defend for the rest of the series it will be up to Luka and Kyrie to score from midrange/floaters.

[DallasMaverick]

Pretty great interview with Kyrie

[BolsDamols]

Luka putting Anthony Edwards in his place. you love to see it

[Chicagojk]

49 threes for Minnesota. Wow.

[Razzmatazz_Hopskidillydoo]

No more Hardaway or Exum the rest of the series.  Hardy played well tonight.  Great passing

No. If anything, Exum needs to play more than THJ. Exum defends well, hustles, the only problem with him is he seems to have lost his confidence after coming back from the injury. Green might be the better shooter right now, but Exum's decision making is better.

Yes to Hardy though and THJ should only play if nothing else works.

[donzingis38]

Damn, Josh. You're lucky Conley choked one FT. Get some sleep tonight

[Chicagojk]

Mavs got a ton of wide open threes. Just ain’t make much until late. Will be interesting what changes each teams makes

[Berknip]

Next time Gafford does that weak lazy bunny hop mini hook shot instead of a maximum effort two hand slam I’m making him run baseline sprints until he pukes.

[The Jom]

Have to give props to THJ for being a teammate. You know he hates what’s happened to his game. His line tonight:

10 mins, 0 FGAs (ZERO!!!), 4 rebounds, 1 steal, +7

[ThisIStheYear]

Lively +19 again. He’s just here, he’s there, he’s every effing where! He’s a star.

[fifteenth]

The Mavs didn't play the game y'all wanted them to play (the folks I see that hated this game).

They punished the drop coverage making 2s. They rested the starters enough to lock down on D in the 4th. They won the game 1 chess match, didn't freak out, and made important shots and free throws down the stretch.

These are our Dallas Mavericks, and here for it.

[Mavs2021]

Lively +19 again. He’s just here, he’s there, he’s every effing where!  He’s a star.

Winning culture decisions.

[myconsumerclub]

knew we would win it. We already beat MIN in the reg see with Powell at center so naturally Lively is so much more of a great defender we would have to be almost guaranteed to win it with him instead of Dwight.