by Team Del Genio
Friday, May 31, 2024The Minnesota Timberwolves kept their season alive on Tuesday with a 105-100 upset victory as a 1.5-point underdog. While no NBA team has ever rallied from a 0-3 deficit to win an NBA playoff series, the Timberwolves could at least take some confidence of being breaking this 0-155 mark in NBA history from the positive shift in defensive tactics head coach Chris Finch made for Game 4.
Finch continued to have Jaden McDaniels defend Luka Doncic for fewer minutes and instead defend Kyrie Irving. Anthony Edwards had become the primary defender on Doncic while Finch is giving fewer minutes off the bench to Naz Reid and instead turning to Kyle Anderson who has been capable of slowing down Doncic. The Mavericks had an offensive rating of 116 when McDaniels was defending Doncic. Yet when McDaniels is defending Irving, the Timberwolves were outscoring Dallas by +10 points in this series. McDaniels importance in defending Irving is even more pronounced by these on/off numbers. When Irving was on the court but McDaniels was off the court, the Mavericks were outscoring them by +31 points in this series. McDaniels guarded Doncic for nine minutes in Game 1. Those minutes dropped to 7:30 minutes in Game 2 and 6:30 minutes in Game 3. In their Game 4 win, McDaniels defended Doncic for just 3:30 minutes, and that number was likely to continue to drop in Game 5.
Dallas posted a 105.4 offensive rating and an effective field goal percentage of 50.6% which were both series lows. They had an offensive rating of at least 114.9 in each of the first three games of this series.
The injury to Dereck Lively II hurt the Mavericks' offensive attack too. Lively II is a good defensive player, yet his impact on the other end of the court has been huge in this series as he made all 13 of his shots in the first three games. He was questionable to play in Game 5 with what is being labeled a neck sprain rather than a concussion.
Yet Minnesota’s adjustments were short-lived in Game 5. Dallas scored 35 points in the first quarter and added another 34 points in the second quarter. Their 69 first-half points gave them a 29-point lead, and they would cruise to a 124-103 victory and take the series in five games.
The Timberwolves simply had no answers to slow down Doncic or Irving. Doncic scored 36 points and added 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He converted on 14 of his 22 shots from the field including 6 of his 10 shots from 3-point land. Irving contributed 36 points on 14 of 27 shooting, and he made 4 of his 10 shots from 3-point range. When your two superstars combine to score 72 points on 28 of 49 shooting for a 57.1% field goal percentage including a 10 of 20 (50%) clip from the 3-point line, it becomes very hard to win.
The return of Lively II helped. He played 24:45 minutes and scored nine points. His being a threat on offense helped create space for Doncic and Irving. Overall, Dallas made 46 of their 84 shots from the field for a 55% shooting percentage, and the team hit 15 of their 34 shots from distance for a 44% shooting mark from 3.
The Timberwolves did themselves no favors by missing 22 of their 32 shots from 3-point range. A 31.2% clip from 3-point land was not going to get it done against a team making over 50% of their shots. Yet wing defense appears to be a hole on this team that management needs to address in the offseason. Hinch did not have enough options to slow down two dynamic scoring guards like Doncic and Irving.
Good luck - TDG.
Finch continued to have Jaden McDaniels defend Luka Doncic for fewer minutes and instead defend Kyrie Irving. Anthony Edwards had become the primary defender on Doncic while Finch is giving fewer minutes off the bench to Naz Reid and instead turning to Kyle Anderson who has been capable of slowing down Doncic. The Mavericks had an offensive rating of 116 when McDaniels was defending Doncic. Yet when McDaniels is defending Irving, the Timberwolves were outscoring Dallas by +10 points in this series. McDaniels importance in defending Irving is even more pronounced by these on/off numbers. When Irving was on the court but McDaniels was off the court, the Mavericks were outscoring them by +31 points in this series. McDaniels guarded Doncic for nine minutes in Game 1. Those minutes dropped to 7:30 minutes in Game 2 and 6:30 minutes in Game 3. In their Game 4 win, McDaniels defended Doncic for just 3:30 minutes, and that number was likely to continue to drop in Game 5.
Dallas posted a 105.4 offensive rating and an effective field goal percentage of 50.6% which were both series lows. They had an offensive rating of at least 114.9 in each of the first three games of this series.
The injury to Dereck Lively II hurt the Mavericks' offensive attack too. Lively II is a good defensive player, yet his impact on the other end of the court has been huge in this series as he made all 13 of his shots in the first three games. He was questionable to play in Game 5 with what is being labeled a neck sprain rather than a concussion.
Yet Minnesota’s adjustments were short-lived in Game 5. Dallas scored 35 points in the first quarter and added another 34 points in the second quarter. Their 69 first-half points gave them a 29-point lead, and they would cruise to a 124-103 victory and take the series in five games.
The Timberwolves simply had no answers to slow down Doncic or Irving. Doncic scored 36 points and added 10 assists and 10 rebounds. He converted on 14 of his 22 shots from the field including 6 of his 10 shots from 3-point land. Irving contributed 36 points on 14 of 27 shooting, and he made 4 of his 10 shots from 3-point range. When your two superstars combine to score 72 points on 28 of 49 shooting for a 57.1% field goal percentage including a 10 of 20 (50%) clip from the 3-point line, it becomes very hard to win.
The return of Lively II helped. He played 24:45 minutes and scored nine points. His being a threat on offense helped create space for Doncic and Irving. Overall, Dallas made 46 of their 84 shots from the field for a 55% shooting percentage, and the team hit 15 of their 34 shots from distance for a 44% shooting mark from 3.
The Timberwolves did themselves no favors by missing 22 of their 32 shots from 3-point range. A 31.2% clip from 3-point land was not going to get it done against a team making over 50% of their shots. Yet wing defense appears to be a hole on this team that management needs to address in the offseason. Hinch did not have enough options to slow down two dynamic scoring guards like Doncic and Irving.
Good luck - TDG.
