MINNEAPOLIS — The Dallas Mavericks won Game 1 against the Minnesota Timberwolves 108-105 on Wednesday for their first series-opening victory of the postseason this year, and both teams see room for significant improvement ahead of Friday’s matchup.
After practice on Thursday, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch praised his team’s effort in the series opener against the Mavericks. He felt the team didn’t live up to expectations, but he expects to be more focused in Game 2 on Friday.
“Yeah, it was a tough film session,” Finch told reporters during practice in Minneapolis on Thursday. “I said to the guys, ‘I haven’t been this disappointed in your effort in a long time. Your performance, your attitude, your enthusiasm, your attention to detail was just lacking.’ The Western Conference finals are underway. I don’t know if they got that memo, but they did this afternoon.”
Anthony Edwards felt his team was “a little tired” given that the Timberwolves had just come off a seven-game series against the Denver Nuggets before advancing to the Western Conference semifinals. After the Game 7 win over the Nuggets, Edwards tried to get Kyrie Irving to step up and do his job, but Edwards was limited to 19 points while Irving set the tone for Dallas by scoring 24 of his 30 points in the first half.
“You could tell we were a step behind the others,” Edwards said Wednesday night, “especially myself. It was all on us today. I wasn’t too out of it. I was probably just a little tired.”
The Mavericks’ game plan was clearly focused on shrinking the court, making it difficult for Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns to play in the paint while forcing players like Jaden McDaniels and Kyle Anderson to try and make 3-pointers. Minnesota opened the game by making 11 of 25 (44%) of its 49 3-point attempts in the first half, before dropping to 7 of 24 (29.2%) after that. Edwards and Towns combined to make 12 of 36 (33.3%) from the field.
“Yeah, I think it’s important for us to get as many guys back in there as we can and make it a tough game,” Mavericks coach Jason Kidd said.[Anthony Edwards] “He’s one of the best players in the world. You can’t stop him. You just have to make him suffer and hope he makes mistakes.”
The Mavericks expect the Timberwolves to again be shooting a ton of 3-pointers in Game 2. Kidd stressed the importance of continuing to defend the paint but acknowledged how difficult that will be given the number of threats Minnesota will have to deal with.
“In Game 2, I expect him to attack us early and often, and we have to defend the paint,” Kidd said. “They took a lot of 3-pointers. We started off well, and I thought we had to come together as a team in the second half and defend the paint.” [Karl-Anthony Towns] And those who can kick the ball on the floor and reach the goal…
“We believe that [Edwards] “It’s coming,” Kidd explained.[Mike Conley] I’m sure they’ll be better in Game 2. We have to hope for that.”
While the Timberwolves will struggle to play better in Game 2, the Mavericks see a big opportunity to improve from how they counter Minnesota’s 3-point shot. Jaden McDaniels was tied with Dallas at 6-for-9 (66.7%) from 3-point range, while Edwards made five and Naz Reid and Towns combined for another five.
“We made some, we’ve got to do better. You can’t compete with everybody when you’re shooting 40-plus points,” Kidd said, “but again, I thought we had to do better. We gave up some chances to guys that we know we have to do better. So we’ve got to defend the three-point line. They say we had some good chances, they believe we can make some of those chances, and it’s going to be a different game. So we’ve got to defend the three-point line better.”
Dallas won Game 1 despite shooting just 6-of-25 (24.0%) from the perimeter as a team. Luka Doncic, who had 33 points and eight assists, acknowledged that improving his 3-point shooting was essential, as Minnesota’s defense, anchored by Rudy Gobert and McDaniels, has a reputation for collapsing in the paint.
“They’re known for breaking down the paint, so I think we can shoot the 3-pointer a lot better and get some open looks,” Doncic said Wednesday. “Me and [P.J. Washington] “We had some open shots, we just couldn’t beat him, but we made the big shots. We shot 24 percent from 3-point range. We’ve got to get some more open shots and keep shooting. We had some great shots and we’ve got to keep moving the ball.”
Twenty-year-old Derek Lively II has proven wise beyond his years throughout the Mavericks’ postseason run and has emerged as a clear X-factor in the paint on both sides of the ball as it’s progressed. He acknowledged that adjustments are to be expected from both teams ahead of Game 2 and stressed that Dallas has to be ready to adapt.
“We’re really trying to adapt. We’re trying to cover in the paint,” Lively said, “but at the same time, we knew it was going to be an inside-outside game to contest shots. They were making shots today. We’re going to adapt. We’re going to go back and scout, learn, figure out who our shooters are, what they’re comfortable with, where they’re shooting from and try to eliminate that. We’re trying to make each guy on the court nervous.”
After facing two opponents in six-game playoff series, Dallas knows Minnesota may employ a different strategy in Game 2. Being able to adapt on the fly during games will be key to ensuring that any particular tweak doesn’t become a series-changing one.
“You have to be able to adapt. They’re always changing their strategy, changing their coverage, changing your position,” Lively said. “You can’t be a robot. You’re going to face a lot of different things flying at you, but you can’t get bogged down in the mud. You have to keep your feet moving, your eyes moving, and be able to adapt.”
While the emphasis remains on rebounding, the Mavericks understand the importance of limiting unforced errors, especially live-ball turnovers, to keep Minnesota from attacking the open court and getting into a rhythm. Irving stressed the importance of taking pride in the little things.
“I mean, they have guys that can cover a lot of space and they can do a lot of little things that don’t show up on the stat sheet,” Irving said. “They contest a lot of shots and they rotate pretty quick, so we’re playing a strong offense and a strong defense, and that translates to them having a lot of run-outs — turnovers, live-ball turnovers, and opportunities to score before we can get our defense in order. That translates to them having a lot of run-outs — turnovers, live-ball turnovers, and opportunities to score before we can get our defense in order.”
“We’re a strong defensive team, so we’ve seen a lot of games where it’s like chess, but if we get the most stops, get the most offensive rebounds, get the most 50-50 basketball, do those kinds of things, we’re going to win,” Irving explained.
The stakes are high for both teams heading into Game 2. For the Mavericks, it will be a huge advantage if they return to Dallas trailing 2-0 in the series and try to defend their home court for the second straight game at American Airlines Center. In that situation, Minnesota has little room for error.
read more: Kyrie Irving admits Anthony Edwards’ comments affected his Game 1 performance
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