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If Timberwolves can’t physically dominate Mavericks, they’ll have to out-execute them

jace frederick, pioneer press
·4 min read

Anthony Edwards manhandled Mavericks guard Jaden Hardy near halfcourt during a moment of Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night.

The Timberwolves star guard walled Hardy up multiple times before finally stripping the ball way. The loose ball went to Dallas big man Daniel Gafford. Edwards raced over to him and tried to poke the ball free again as Gafford made his way to the rim. At the bucket, Gafford was heavily contested by Rudy Gobert. His out-of-control shot attempt wasn’t close, and the Timberwolves gained possession of the ball and took off in the other direction.

That play closely mirrored the defense Minnesota was heavily touted for playing in the first two rounds of the playoffs against Phoenix and Denver. But such occurrences were rare in the Wolves’ Game 1 defeat.

The Mavericks scored 62 points in the paint. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic took turns penetrating the defense, either to score themselves or drop passes off to teammates for easy finishes.

It was the easiest offense has looked against the Wolves all postseason.

Even when someone like Edwards did try to stand up Irving or Doncic, it was ineffective. Irving would slither by or Doncic would simply muscle his way to the rim. The defensive approach of being more physical than the opponent wasn’t nearly as effective as it was against Denver’s Jamal Murray or Phoenix’s Devin Booker.

“Their ball skills, you’re not going to unsettle them like maybe some of the other pressure we’ve been able to apply,” Timberwolves coach Chris Finch said. “But you still got to pick them up, wear them out.”

And execute your schemes. Minnesota didn’t feel it did that whatsoever on Wednesday. Just look at the pick-and-roll coverage, which point guard Mike Conley said was supposed to feature the guy defending the screener up in coverage. Instead, the Timberwolves often got caught in far too deep of drop coverage, which gave Irving and Doncic room to operate in the mid-range, where they could either finish or facilitate.

“We were trying to take away those guards first and rely on the back side (defenders) who can muddy up the roller and make it tougher for them to get those lobs,” Conley said. “There was points we did it right, but there was points we gave up both. We just have to be better at both of those things.”

Frankly, at everything. That, Timberwolves coach Chris Finch told reporters on the day before Game 2 at Target Center, was the essence of Thursday’s fiery film session.

“It was a rough film session. I told the guys, ‘It’s been a long time since I’ve been this disappointed in your effort. Your performance, your attitude, your application and attention to detail just wasn’t there,’ ” Finch said. “The Western Conference Finals started. Not sure if they got the memo. But they got it (Thursday) afternoon.”

Finch noted his team didn’t hustle. Players didn’t execute the game plan, and they made a number of poor decisions.

The Mavericks got out in transition when the opportunities presented themselves and attacked the rim ad nauseam whenever big center Rudy Gobert wasn’t in the game. The Timberwolves did little to stop them.

That’s not going to cut it against a team like the Mavericks. The Timberwolves can’t just be bigger, faster and stronger than the Mavericks. Dallas is too skilled for that.

The Wolves have to play good, technically-sound basketball to win games in this series. Jaden McDaniels did his best to guard Doncic on Wednesday. But he was too often left on an island. Minnesota’s team defense wasn’t up to snuff.

“I think it’s a whole team effort when you’re playing against two skillfully offensive guys like that,” Wolves forward Kyle Anderson told reporters of Doncic and Irving. “So, guys got to be in gaps. It’s going to take five of us to guard them. We just got to be a little more attentive.”

Anthony Edwards said Minnesota was simply “flat” and “a step behind” on Wednesday. That cannot be the case on Friday – not if the Timberwolves want to prove themselves to be a legitimate factor in this series.

“Yeah, I’m sure we’ll come out and play better. It’s hard to imagine that we’re going to play much worse,” Finch said. “But there’s lots of things that I’m sure Dallas is going to look to adjust to as well, so every one of these games has a personality of its own.”

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