Too many self-inflicted wounds plagued the Wolves late as they came up short in a nationally-televised Western Conference Finals rematch
“It’s not about how you start, but how you finish” could have been wrapped up in a case study for Tuesday night’s TNT-televised Western Conference Finals rematch between the Minnesota Timberwolves and Dallas Mavericks that ended the same way the last game of the series did.
A home loss.
You wouldn’t guess it to be the result after a hot start that came in the form of a 24-point first quarter by Anthony Edwards and an eight-point lead heading into the second quarter.
This seems to be favorable for the wolves pic.twitter.com/adGTBFOyz4
— Andrew Carlson (@andrew_carlson2) October 30, 2024
But from there, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving started to breathe some life into the Dallas side of things, and Rudy Gobert struggled to get into a rhythm on either end of the floor, failing to find his footing early in pick-and-roll defense, and getting careless in some of his takes on the other end.
Take that, and roll it up into a ball with 20 turnovers, nine missed free throws, and horrendous rebounding down the stretch, it’s not going to be incredibly beneficial against a team that’s started the season as hot as the Mavs, who were on the tail end of a back-to-back beating Utah on Monday night.
It was an early season lesson for a Wolves team that can tend to get a little bit carefree at times, but as unanimously said afterward from the Wolves locker room, it’s more than correctable.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
An Anthony Edwards Experience
The Anthony Edwards first quarter was something to behold.
Anthony Edwards – good at basketball.pic.twitter.com/se2XUAwPJ4
— Canis Hoopus (@canishoopus) October 30, 2024
There was a point in time when it was likely that not a single person at Target Center thought he would miss.
He played all 12 minutes, shot 8-10 from the field (6-8 from three), and poured in 24 points. He was aggressive in getting to his three-ball, and downright fearless with a hand in his face once he got it rolling (nothing atypical from what anyone has seen before).
The problem came after the first quarter in which Edwards registered just 13 points over the rest of the game and paired it with accounting for a quarter of the Wolves 20 turnovers.
“I just went cold,” Edwards said afterward. “Just mad at myself a little bit.”
It was another litmus test to see how Edwards would once again handle a hot stretch and react to a little bit more defensive attention after singlehandedly obliterating a team for an entire quarter.
Many times, nights like Tuesday turn into Edwards evolving into settling for jump shots as opposed to getting to the rim at a higher frequency.
NBA.com
I think you can certainly make the case that it could have been the case against Dallas as well, as he converted all of his paint attempts while the lion’s share of his misses came from the perimeter.
It’s the next development in the arc of Edwards’ journey to becoming a top-three player in the league. How can you use the stretches of being a human flamethrower to the advantage of the greater team, even when your primary screensetter in Rudy Gobert is having an off night on the roll?
Already with an improved catch-and-shoot game, Edwards’ continued improvement in getting the ball out of his hands when needed and playoff off of the ball is going to be paramount.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Miscues Play In Mavs’ Favor
- 9 missed three throws
- 20 turnovers (25 Mavericks points off turnovers)
- Allowing five of Dallas’ 12 offensive rebounds in the 4th quarter
It was overall sloppy.
Not only were the turnovers plentiful, but it felt as though many of them carried more gravity given the points of the game in which they were committed. As soon as the Wolves would string a second-half run together and climb back in the game, including a four-point deficit with less than a minute left, a turnover was committed that set momentum back to the ground level.
“A lot of them were just kinda wild,” Head Coach Chris Finch affirmed afterward. “Poor passing really.”
Dallas also doubled the Wolves up on the fastbreak, notching 20 points in transition to the Wolves’ 10. It was pretty clear all night that the Mavericks switch-heavy defense threw off matchups getting to the other side of the floor.
“Getting into a specific matchup instead of getting matched up quickly” as Finch put it.
One of the best transition defenses in the league last year in allowing 19.7 points in transition per game (7th in the NBA), it’s been one of the biggest areas of disappointment so far and areas to improve for a team still getting to know each other.
Heading into Tuesday, the Wolves checked in allowing 26.3 tied for 25th in the league, and third worst in transition field goals attempted against them.
Up Next
The Wolves will host a Denver Nuggets team that’s struggling out of the gate at Target Center on Friday on the front end of a back-to-back that concludes with the Spurs on Saturday.
The Nuggets are coming off close wins against two sputtering teams in the Raptors and Nets, and are having a harder time finding depth off the bench that can consistently contribute. It’s a great opportunity for a Wolves team coming off of a disappointing loss to notch a home win against a quality opponent before hitting the road to San Antonio.