Timberwolves vs. Mavericks: Three takeaways as Doncic leads Dallas to Game 1 win

2024 NBA Playoffs – Dallas Mavericks v Minnesota Timberwolves

In a Western Conference Finals expected to be close, the Dallas Mavericks won Game 1 on the road by just 3 points…

But was it really that tight? Dallas won despite a rough shooting night from 3 (6-of-25). There are positive signs for the Mavericks coming out of Game 1 and a lot of adjusting for the Timberwolves to make. Let’s look at the 3 big takeaways from Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.

Minnesota lived by the 3 and died by it

It was a red flag at halftime when Minnesota was only ahead by three (62-59) despite knocking down 11 3-pointers (shooting 44% on them) compared to Dallas’ two (15.4%).

It was a bigger red flag that by the end of Game 1 the Timberwolves had taken 49 shots from beyond the arc — that is not their game. The Timberwolves’ hot shooting regressed in the second half as they took 24 more 3-pointers and hit just 29.4% of them. Taking that many 3s unbalanced Minnesota, which averaged 32.7 3-point attempts a game during the regular season (and that fell to 31.6 last series against Denver, although the Timberwolves did take 40 in the Game 6 blowout win in that series).

Dallas’ game plan was to drop Daniel Gafford, Dereck Lively II and others deep, protect the paint, and sacrifice some looks from 3, particularly from shooters they didn’t fear (the Mavericks were not closing out on Kyle Anderson and his Slo-Mo windup, for example). Minnesota took the bait and did not put enough pressure on the rim.

“We didn’t play with enough energy, just looked tired,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “On top of that, that kind of approach, we just didn’t move as well as usually do. Defensively, we gotta get even more fastbreak points. That’s something we depend on. Just didn’t do enough today.”
In Game 2 on Thursday, the Timberwolves need to get back to their game, working inside out to set up good shots if they can’t get something at the rim. Which brings us to takeaway No. 2…

Edwards shot 6-of-16 for the game, but the bigger concern is that 12 of those shots came from beyond the arc. At just 22, Edwards is the engine of the Minnesota offense and is…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/timberwolves-vs-mavericks-three-takeaways-140323984.html

Author : NBC Sports

Publish date : 2024-05-23 14:03:23

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