Wednesday night marked the beginning of the Western Conference Finals as the Dallas Mavericks traveled to Minnesota to face the Timberwolves. The Timberwolves entered the WCF as the favorite after defeating the Denver Nuggets, the reigning champions, in their previous series. Although they were the favorites to win the first game at home, the Mavericks prevailed 108-105 to make a statement. Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 19 points.
If the Timberwolves are going to keep going on this run, they are going to need Anthony Edwards to play at a very high level. He has been terrific in the playoffs so far, and he is a huge reason why the Timberwolves have made it this far. He will need to be big in this series. Game one was a bit of an off game for Edwards. He was just 6/16 from the floor, and he only finished with 19 points. He is going to have to play better than that if the Timberwolves are going to win this series. Draymond Green talked about his performance on the Draymond Green Show, and Green believes there is something that will help Edwards play better for the remainder of this series.
Draymond Green stated, “You got to get Ant Man off Kyrie.” “Not because Ant Man can’t protect him, not because Kyrie had 30 and had a fantastic night, though, to be honest, I don’t think anyone can protect Kyrie.” But the reason is that, toward the end of the game, did you spot Ant Man? He was exhausted, gasping for breath, and I understand—you just finished a hard seven-game series, and two nights later you’re out there, Uncle Drew, running around old Kyrie Irving. That’s a catastrophe, since Kyrie never stops running and always takes it downhill when he gets the ball.
With 30 points in the game, Kyrie Irving had a fantastic performance. Luka Doncic finished the game with 33, the only player with more. Irving made things difficult for Edwards, so it might be wise to adjust things a little in the second game.
