The Dallas Mavericks are going to travel to the Target Centre for Game 1 of their Western Conference Finals against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Having secured a stellar win against the OKC Thunder in the second round of the playoffs, the Mavs will be high on confidence heading to Minneapolis. However, waiting for them is probably one of the most tenacious defensive sides in the league – Minnesota Timberwolves which will be a tough matchup for them.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving have been stellar for the Dallas Mavericks in this playoff run of theirs. After last year’s failure in the second half of the campaign, many people had written off the Mavs. However, they worked on their roster and made some prominent changes, helping them now become a contender to win the NBA championship. Aside from Irving and Doncic, the team have a few solid role players, who have led the way for them. The likes of PJ Washington, Derrick Jones Jr. and Dereck Lively II have all been incredibly important for the team from Dallas. The trio will be the difference makers in the series if the Mavs are to topple the dominance of the Minnesota bigs.
Led by Anthony Edwards, the T-Wolves have been a team to watch out for all season. They finished third in the West and made their way to the Conference Finals after beating teams like the Phoenix Suns and defending champions, the Denver Nuggets. Minnesota has played some great defense throughout the playoffs and this is what helped them get through teams like Phoenix and Denver. They have some great offensive players, but coach Chris Finch has instilled some good defensive habits in his team and it has been visible in this postseason.
Will the Dallas Mavericks have an answer to the Minnesota Timberwolves’ defensive resilience?
The Minnesota Timberwolves finished the regular season as the number-one-rated defense in the league. They have carried the same intensity into the postseason and it will be great to watch them going up against the Dallas Mavericks, who have two of the most offensively gifted players in the NBA. Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving are both capable of scoring over 30 points on any given day, but a true test of their talent will be against the T-Wolves.
OKC was a good test for the Mavs, but they were able to overcome them, courtesy of their bigs. However, they will now be facing the T-Wolves, who have two of the most diverse centres in the league. While Karl-Anthony Towns gets the team going on offense, Rudy Gobert is the Wolves’ defensive anchor and the duo together have done a great job for the franchise.
Dallas also have the likes of Daniel Gafford, Derrick Jones Jr. and PJ Washington who can guard all five positions. This will make the series an interesting one to watch as both teams look evenly matched. The T-Wolves have never made it to the NBA Finals and it would give Anthony Edwards the bragging rights to be the face of the league. However, Luka Doncic will not let that happen with ease. He has achieved a lot in his career, but what eludes him is the prestigious NBA championship, which he will try to win by beating Edwards.
