Western Conference Finals Game 1

Mavericks steal home court as Kyrie and Luka combine for 63 to open the Western Conference Finals. 

One of the key takeaways from this game is that Luka for the first time this postseason looks healthy. The rest the Mavs got by finishing off the Thunder in 6 games may prove to be extremely crucial for this playoff push. Especially considering the T-Wolves are coming off a very tough 7 game series with the defending champ Nuggets. On top of this Luka's assignment vs Jaden McDaniels is more favourable to him than in series past. What really bothers Luka is bigger, more physical defenders, not length and speed which is what McDaniels offers. Lu Dort, who is a heavier, stronger defensive stopper, had success slowing Luka down. Even against the Clippers in round 1, a bigger framed wing like Paul George led Luka to some lower percentages and scoring numbers than what were used to seeing. Luka wasn’t able to use his size to his advantage as he usually is able to as a 6’7, 230 pound guard vs Dort due to his sort of line backer type build.  Jaden McDaniels on the other hand, who still is an All Defence level guy, and has been incredible this playoffs, lacks the size that Dort brought (190 lbs for McDaniels vs Dort at 220). McDaniels is a longer wing defender and uses this to his advantage against smaller guards. McDaniels’ length and All-Defensive skills however were not enough to slow down Luka who was the best player on the court last night.   

Kyries hot start set the tone for the Mavs on the road and allowed Luka to get comfortable. This was also something we haven’t seen from Kyrie yet this postseason as he hasn't been very aggressive offensively as of late, especially at the start of games. However, we know that Anthony Edwards called out Irving after Minnesota's game 7 win in Denver, so maybe the vet had something he wanted to show Ant. The way Kyrie was attacking Anthony Edwards from everywhere resulted in his second highest postseason scoring first half with 24 points. But more importantly, consistent pressure from Kyrie on Ant, saw him get exhausted late in the game. But really, Edwards struggled all night on the offensive end finding his shot because of how difficult of a matchup Kyrie can be, along with the Mavs defence.  

Even with Luka and Kyries offence, the Mavs didn’t have a very good offensive game. As a team they shot only 6/25 from deep, they lost the turnover battle, but they still found a way to steal home court. 

The playoffs are all about adjustments, and Minnesota will have to find ways to slow down Kyrie and Luka. Rudy Gobert in drop coverage is not going to work against Luka Doncic. We saw in the forth quarter when the Mavs went to high screens on a few consecutive posessions, Luka was torching the Wolves and Gobert. Luka had 15 to close the game, including a personal 7-0 run. As important as these defensive adjustments are, Minnesota also needs to find more sources of scoring. Even with McDaniels’ hot start, KAT went 6/20, Conley was bad, Alexander-Walker continues to struggle this postseason, and the secondary scoring just wasn’t there last night for Minnesota on their home court. 

As Reggie Miller continuously mentioned through the forth quarter, Anthony Edwards was exhausted. With the constant pressure Kyrie was putting on Edwards, especially early in the game, he appeared to have severely lost his burst on offence. Minnesota, being a team that has heavily relied on their defence and scoring from Edwards this postseason, struggled to find the basket when Ant had trouble finding his shot in the forth and most of the second half. Edwards resorted to threes instead of attacking the rim, or going inside to make space to find his shot. He has been one of the most effective 2 point jump shooters these playoffs and last night in the second half he didn’t make one 2 point jumper. Tired or not, in the conference finals you need your stars to execute on both ends of the floor.

Furthermore, despite shooting struggles and losing the turnover battle, the Mavericks stole home court off the backs of Kyrie and Luka. I expect Anthony Edwards to bounce back in game 2 and hopefully look more like his normal self. Minnesota is certainly going to need it if they have any hopes of avoiding a 2-0 deficit on their home floor. 

By: Matteo Ametrano