“Best of the Western Conference Finals Preview”
“Breakout before you get bum rushed in the wild, wild west!” Lyrics
from the great Kool Moe Dee.
Yes, it’s been a very wild western conference playoff bracket. As I
preview these two teams, both have earned their spots to be here.
Minnesota Timberwolves will host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday
night in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Let’s get down to business shall we?
Minnesota Timberwolves:
Howling their way into the Western Conference Finals since 2004, back to when former Wolves and Hall of Famer Kevin Garnett led the team to their highest playoff round. This version of Minnesota has been on the rise; now they’ve arrived.
Dethroning the defending champion Denver Nuggets in game seven,
nobody would’ve imagined Minnesota accomplishing such a big
moment.
Led by superstar guard Anthony Edwards, the young Wolves will look to
howl even louder in part of checking one box off the list. Edwards has
been sensational in Minnesota’s playoff run. Not shying away from big
moments, he needs to attack the Mavs defense with his prowess. Maul
and make it difficult for Dallas to adjust. Karl Anthony-Towns needs to
show up and help lead the pack as well. Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid, Jaden
McDaniels, Mike Conley Jr, and the role players need to really outclass
Dallas’ bench. One of the best defenses will have to slow down Luka
and Kyrie from beating them. Chris Finch has done a great job in
keeping his team poised and believing they can beat anyone. With this
series, they’ll have to howl even louder and scare the Mavericks back to
Dallas.
Dallas Mavericks:
Making their second appearance in three seasons,
Dallas rides into Minnesota with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s shot
making abilities. Flexing their muscles on a young Oklahoma City
Thunder team, it prepared them for this round. Luka’s game is
sensational, but this will be a test of his leadership in deferring to other
players. We all know his game is special; can it be special enough to win
this round and advance? Kyrie Irving has been here several times and
knows what it takes as he learned in Cleveland playing with LeBron
James. PJ Washington has been solid and will have his work cut out
against Minnesota’s defensive sets. Derrick Jones Jr, Daniel Gafford,
Dereck Lively II all will need to outplay the Wolves rotation of KAT,
Gobert, and Naz Reid. Head Coach Jason Kidd has turned Dallas into a
strong defensive team since mid-February. They’ll have to avoid relying
on Luka and Kyrie if both guys are struggling late in the game. If it turns
into a two man show, Dallas won’t be able to overcome their
deficiencies in this series.Just like Oklahoma City, Minnesota will score early and often; but Dallas will need all hands on deck other than Luka and Kyrie.
Expect this series to be very entertaining and a lot of scoring. One of the more
exciting western conference finals series we’ve had in a while. A young
Wolves team who’s hungry and arrived versus a veteran Mavericks
squad who’ll have to giddy up each night to avoid falling behind early.
Let the “wild, wild west” finals howl and ride into the low-key Midwest
of Minneapolis, Minnesota!
Stai tuned.
