MINNEAPOLIS— The Minnesota Timberwolves were struggling a disappointing loss to the Dallas Mavericks in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals Wednesday night.
The Wolves led for much of the first half, but let the Mavericks take the lead late and couldn’t take it back. Still, many of the issues that contributed to the loss are easy to identify and – hopefully – resolve.
Here’s what went wrong for the Wolves in Game 1.
Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic
The Wolves did a great job limiting Dallas’ bench – Naz Reid‘s 15 points were more than all the Mavs’ reserves combined, but the superstar duo of Doncic and Irving overpowered them. The two combined to score 63 of Dallas’ 108 points. Irving was quick and elusive all night and Doncic hit some impressive contested shots. Going forward, the Wolves will need to find a way to limit the pair’s effectiveness without sacrificing their strong defense against supporting players.
Schedule management
There were some baffling lineup decisions by Micah Nori and Chris Finch on Wednesday night. Maybe they’re preparing for another long streak, but the Wolves only had one starter (Anthony Edwards) last longer than 40 minutes. The Mavericks had three. Karl-Anthony Towns only played 34:23 and Mike Conley only 30:48.
The Wolves get rid of a tax series of seven games against the defending champions, so perhaps the coaching staff was trying to maintain the players’ energy – Edwards looked exhausted at the end of the match and admitted he had been gassed in a post-match interview. But the Mavs are coming off their own six-game losing streak and were able to keep their starters on the floor more.
Going forward, the Wolves will need more minutes from their starters, especially if the games are as close as Wednesday’s.
Free throws
The Wolves shot just 61.1% from the line, well below their season average of 77.7%. They should see some improvement in this area as the series progresses.
In a three-point loss, the Wolves missed seven free throws – including a crucial one from Conley late, putting the Wolves in the dire situation of needing a three-pointer to force overtime. Conley, a 91.1% free throw shooter this season, was 1/4 from the line, although one of the misses was intentional.
The Mavericks, meanwhile, went 16/17 from the line. That’s a disparity that cannot continue if the Wolves hope to win the series.
What went well
Despite the team’s and fans’ somber mood after the Game 1 loss, it wasn’t all bad. The Wolves led for much of the game and could have easily won the game if a few rebounds had gone their way.
The Wolves have done a great job of staying out of trouble (which, honestly, makes the minutes management issues even more confusing). Jaden McDaniels led the team with four, Rudy Gobert had three and Towns only had two.
Minnesota’s offensive performance was basically the opposite of Dallas’: while Edwards and Towns were held to just 35 combined points, they had four other players in double figures and got 28 points off the bench. McDaniels hit 6/9 threes and finished with 24 points. If Wolves’ stars can show up offensively in the next game, they will be in top form.
Game 2 is Friday night. The Wolves still have a lot of fixing to do before then, but there are also a lot of encouraging things to take away, and the series is far from over.
