MINNEAPOLIS – It was, in coach Chris Finch’s estimation, a “rough” film session for the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
The Mavericks had played a strong Game 1 in the Western Conference finals to take a 108-105 victory and the Wolves’ coach was not happy with his team. Or with the legality of certain things happening on the court. But more on that in a moment.
The Mavericks had a game plan that stifled the Minnesota offense in the paint and forced a ridiculous 49 three-pointers by shutting down the interior.
“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, your attention to detail,” Finch said Thursday after a long film session and some light court work. “It just wasn’t there.
“The Western Conference finals started. I’m not sure if they got the memo. But they got it this afternoon.”
Asked what got him irked at his team, Finch said: “We just played flat. The game plan was not on point for execution. Decision-making on offense was not very good. Got beat by a lot of hustle plays, transition, offensive rebounds – it just can’t happen.”
All fair points. But it’s worth mentioning that the Mavericks probably had something to do with that.
They had a game plan defensively to keep the Wolves – Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns in particular – away from the rim. Hence, the 49 three-pointers (of the Wolves’ 89 shots).
Now, about the Mavericks’ interior defense? Finch had his own subtle way of explaining it.
“They do a good job,” he said. “They put five guys in the restricted (area), many of them in there illegally. But we didn’t do enough downhill attacking. We spent a lot of time going east-west.”
Finch also had a commentary on the Mavericks’ offense, which made the Wolves’ No. 1 defense work through a myriad of screens and took advantage of transition opportunities before the Wolves could get set defensively.
“I thought Jaden (McDaniels) was great,” Finch said. “He battled all night long, got through a thousand screens, many of those illegal, too. He kept contesting everything. I thought he was one of our bright spots.”
Whatever the case, the Mavericks had a splendid game plan offensively to play as fast as possible, get Kyrie Irving out on the break early and, eventually, they ran up a 62-38 advantage in points in the paint, an advantage that is extremely difficult to overcome, unless a team is sizzling from the three-point arc.
The Wolves weren’t, despite shooting so many of them. They hit 36.7 percent, which is good, but not sizzling.
Size it up and the Wolves simply chalked up the Game 1 loss to a bad night at the office.
“I’m sure we’ll come out and play better,” Finch said. “It’s hard to imagine we’re going to play much worse.”
Here’s our other takeaways from the Mavericks’ Game 1 win:
ROLE REVERSAL: While every game takes on its own personality, the norm for the Mavericks most of the time is for Luka Dončić to come out of the gate firing and Kyrie Irving to size up the game and pick his spots before asserting himself in the fourth quarter. It was the exact opposite in Game 1. Irving had 24 first-half points. And it was a good thing. Without him, the Mavericks might have been buried. “I think 11 of his 24 points in the first half were early attacks,” Finch said. “That’s where he’s been so good for them. We didn’t do a good job of getting back. He got behind us once. He split us a couple times. We knew those were coming. We just weren’t good enough getting back in transition and showing him enough bodies.” Then, in the fourth quarter, it was Luka’s turn. He had 15 of his 33 points in the fourth, including nine during a 13-0 run that put the Mavericks up 97-89 midway through the fourth quarter.
FOOL’S GOLD? Game 1 wins on the road are valuable, for sure. Any win in the playoffs is valuable. But it can also be a mixed signal of sorts. Overall, teams that win Game 1 go on to win a best-of-seven series 75 percent of the time. However, teams that win Game 1 on the road are barely a 50-50 proposition to win the series (51.5 percent in NBA history, 88-83 coming into this postseason). The Mavericks know they are going to have to do more, particularly when the home court has been so traitorous as it has been in this year’s playoffs. “We got a Game 2 here on Friday and we have to go back and look at the things that hurt us,” coach Jason Kidd said. “And we have to be better. It’s tough to win at this time of year. All four teams are good. It’s hard to win on the road. We were able to do that tonight. But we still felt like we didn’t play well.”
STRONG NUMBERS: The Wolves are one of the biggest teams in the NBA, but the Mavericks won the rebounding battle 48-40 . . . They also hit 16-of-17 free throws. In tight playoff situations, that’s a game-changer . . . The Wolves were 18-of-49 from three-point range. They averaged 32.3 three-pointers in their first 11 playoff games in this run . . . Lead changes in Game 1: 14. Ties: 7. Biggest lead: 8 for the Mavs, 9 for the Wolves. This series could leave all fans as emotional wrecks.
X: @ESefko
Share and comment